ISO/PAS 24969:2025

Overview - ISO/PAS 24969:2025 (IPC contingency plan for exhibitions)

ISO/PAS 24969:2025 provides guidance for developing a contingency plan for infection prevention and control (IPC) specifically tailored to the exhibition industry. Published as a Publicly Available Specification (first edition, 2025), it covers IPC measures to be implemented across the entire exhibition cycle - planning, operating and evaluating - and defines roles and responsibilities for organizers, venue operators, service providers, exhibitors and participants. The document aligns incident management approaches with the ISO 22320 framework for emergency response.

Key topics and technical requirements

The standard focuses on practical IPC elements and structured response mechanisms, including:

• Risk assessment: responsibilities, processes and infection risk measurement to evaluate outbreak likelihood and impact.
• Surveillance and early detection: monitoring and reporting mechanisms to identify cases and signals rapidly.
• Continuity of essential services: plans to maintain critical exhibition operations during an outbreak.
• Capacity building: training, resource allocation and preparedness measures for staff and partners.
• Rapid response mechanism: predefined actions and escalation pathways for outbreak scenarios.
• Infection-related incident management: a management process, structure, roles and resource management for containment and recovery.
• Operational controls such as personal protective equipment (PPE), recommended disinfectants, entrances/exits/signage, queuing and physical distancing measures.
• Communication and education strategies for pre-event, during-event and post-event phases.
• Practical recommendations by stakeholder: organizer, venue operator, service provider and exhibitor (planning, build-up, operation, tear-down).

Practical applications and users

ISO/PAS 24969:2025 is intended for professionals who plan, run or support exhibitions and trade events:

• Exhibition organizers and event planners - to design IPC contingency plans and communications.
• Venue operators and facilities managers - to implement venue-specific hygiene, ventilation and traffic-flow controls.
• Service providers (catering, cleaning, logistics, security) - to integrate IPC into contracts and operations.
• Exhibitors and stand-builders - to apply disinfection and distancing measures during build-up, operation and tear-down.
• Public health advisors, emergency managers and industry associations - to harmonize event-level IPC protocols with local health guidance.

Related standards

• ISO 22320 (incident response framework) - referenced for structure and process of infection-related incident management.
• Other sectoral IPC or public health guidance may be used alongside ISO/PAS 24969:2025 for local regulatory compliance.

Keywords: ISO/PAS 24969:2025, infection prevention and control, IPC contingency plan, exhibition industry, risk assessment, surveillance, rapid response, organizers, venue operators.