They planned for 500. Nearly 1.000 showed up.

The inaugural cross-network B2B festival for women in leadership doubled its expected attendance overnight. run.events handled every ticket, every check-in, and every badge — with zero waiting lines.

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Inaugural Edition

1K Attendees

2x Over Capacity

0 Wait Lines

0 attendees in one hour

500+ last-minute registrations

<3 min peak wait time

0 waiting lines all day

The initiators of the Female Network Festival with patron Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller

The initiators with patron Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller at the CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf, March 3, 2026

The Story

A first-of-its-kind festival that outgrew its own ambition

The Female Network Festival is a cross-network B2B event for women in leadership — initiated by Dr. Charlotte Beissel (Stadtwerke Düsseldorf), Annette Grabbe (Rheinbahn), Karin-Brigitte Göbel (Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf), and Maria Kofidou (Düsseldorf Congress GmbH). Held under the patronage of Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller, the inaugural edition drew nearly 1.000 attendees to the CCD Congress Center — almost double the planned 500.

Highlights included a keynote by Christina Puello, President of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs (VdU), the panel "Leadership Unplugged — Courage. Power. Humanity." with NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur, and the IHK Engagement Lounge showcasing women's access to economic decision-making.

"Networks are not an end in themselves. Their power emerges when exchange turns into concrete action."
— Annette Grabbe, Board Member, Rheinbahn AG

March 3, 2026

CCD Congress Center, Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf Congress GmbH

the-female-network.de

The Challenge

When your event doubles in size overnight

500 planned. Nearly 1.000 showed up. Every one of them needed to be checked in and badged within a single hour.

1
Surge of last-minute registrations
Hundreds of new sign-ups in the final days — the platform had to absorb them without friction.
2
Walk-ins with no pre-registration
Attendees arrived unregistered. The CCD team needed to onboard them on the spot.
3
1.000 people, one hour, zero tolerance
Every attendee needed a badge in hand before the program started.

1
Self-service QR check-in terminals
Scan, confirm, badge printed — seconds per attendee, zero bottleneck.
2
One-click walk-in registration
The CCD team registered walk-ins at the desk — no training, no delays.
3
End-to-end ticketing service
Sales, payments, attendee emails — all managed so the team could focus on the festival.

Platform

One platform, end to end

Everything the Female Network Festival needed — from the public-facing website to the last badge printed on-site.

Event Website

Branded site driving registrations and showcasing the program

Ticketing & Payments

Managed service including attendee email support

Self-Service Check-In

QR terminals for instant verification and badge print

Mobile App

Live agenda, speaker profiles, partner info on the go

Badge Printing

Professional on-demand badges via QR scan

Communications

Automated confirmations, updates, post-event follow-up

Voices

What they say

"When your event doubles in size overnight, you need technology that adapts instantly. Our self-service check-in and on-demand badge printing ensured every single attendee had a smooth, professional experience."

Margit Jugo COO, run.events