WRC-23 Day-0: Nearly Ready

Final preparations are nearly complete for the opening of the 2023 World Radio Conference (WRC-23) at the large Dubai World Trade Centre venue. This is the second recent WRC which has been held away from the ITU home in Geneva, following WRC-19 in Egypt.

Following a long overnight Saturday flight from the UK and hotel check-in, it was prudent to recover quickly and complete registration for your access badge on Sunday. This made you appreciate that a modest looking distance on the map was a far longer walk from the UK team hotel  – with high outdoor temperatures. But that was better than Friday, when a major downpour had delayed flights and temporarily closed the venue.

With badging sorted, a walk around the main areas showed that this was about to be a vast affair – with the two largest rooms capable of accommodating thousands of delegates.

It was also a chance to briefly touch base with a few amateur volunteers who had arrived a week earlier when the ITU Radio Assembly was running and had included some unfinished work on 23cm. That saw some really hard work by IARU, notably by Barry Lewis G4SJH, RSGB Microwave Manager. Whilst progress was encouraging, it will no doubt be a prelude for the four weeks to come.

Monday is largely the WRC-23 opening ceremony and plenary in the vast main hall, which ITU are going to stream. The real work gets underway at 8am on Tuesday (04:00 UTC) with the first UK Delegation meeting ahead of main business.

The RSGB’s social media and special focus page at rsgb.org/wrc-23 will feature regular postings whilst the conference is underway.

Category: Front Page News, WRC-23