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The Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre and TIF-Helexpo have left a clear mark on society as regards the health crisis Greece has been experiencing over the past year, by contributing with all its available infrastructure and means at its disposal to supporting and facilitating the health system. Despite the disruption of all exhibition activities due to SARS-Cov-2, the exhibition body did not remain inert. It made available its facilities, located at a critical geographic point, for a series of services and actions related both to the Health sector and broader social contribution.
Thus, one of the two mega vaccine centres in Greece has been hosted for some time at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre (the other is hosted in Helexpo Maroussi in Athens). 108 vaccination lines are located in pavilions 13 and 15. At the same time, TIF-Helexpo also houses the EODY (Hellenic National Public Health Organisation) mobile labs, with a fleet of 35 vehicles.
Outside pavilion 17, a city centre Emergency Services station is being created, ensuring the best possible base and the best possible exits for ambulances headed to both east and west Thessaloniki.
Among other things, TIF-Helexpo has provided storage space for the health supplies of the 3rd and 4th Health District, while the International Exhibition Centre regularly becomes a reference point for Thessaloniki hospital blood drives.
At the same time, beyond the health aspect, the International Exhibition Centre of Thessaloniki also hosts purely social actions,
such as the distribution of food by the municipality of Thessaloniki three times a month, while it also provides shelter for the homeless when the weather requires it.
Furthermore, over the past months, TIF-Helexpo provided equipment — from outdoor pavilions to air purifications systems — to the hospitals of Thessaloniki, contributing where it could.
The national exhibition agency will continue to show its social awareness, responding to any need that arises in the framework of the pandemic and anywhere else it can, proving that, beyond its exhibition role, it is also a vital and active part of the local society, with which it has identified its existence.