MUMBAI: Late last year, the famed Zurich International Radio Festival (IRF) announced that it is shifting its base from the Swiss financial city to Italy’s fashion capital- Milan- as the new venue for its seventh edition. It will be held from 7 to 10 April, 2016 at the Piazza Gae Aulenti, location which is Europe’s largest inner city development, and features Italy’s tallest building the UniCredit Tower.

Speaking to Radioandmusic.com, Interntional Radio Fesitval director Darryl von Daniken said: “In its seventh year, the IRF moves up a notch and moves to the founding country of radio. The new location will allow the IRF to become a truly big public event expecting to welcome over 30,000 visitors over the festival period. The IRF is the world’s first and only public on-air festival and business to business conference to showcase and debate the business of music radio content – the reason why radio is consumed by listeners in the first place.”

One of the reasons for the shift is its partnership with Radio City Milano, a festival that saw participation from Europe’s leading radio stations, last year. Darryl pointed out that the IRF would continue to focus on showcasing and debating the curation and business of music radio content.

He is confident that the shift to Milan will help inject new energy, partners and sponsors. Said he: “Milan is an EXPO city having attracted 21 million visitors over the past year and thus also offers the IRF much greater exposure to the world. Milan will make the IRF its new EXPO project for the coming years.”

Radioandmusic.com has been the IRF’s Indian partner for the past four years.