Outdoors in the streets of the Porta Venezia area, the public test-drove vehicles built for short distances, became acquainted with the newest modes of electric and sustainable transportation, and admired two new BMW models – the i8 roadster (a hybrid supercar with scissor doors) and the iX3 (the German manufacturer's first electric-traction "sport activity vehicle"). Below ground, the 2,000-square-metre mezzanine of the Porta Venezia subway station hosted 40 conferences by over 100 speakers, presentations and installations during the Milan design week, 9–14 April. All this was part of an initiative called BluE, sponsored by the City of Milan to promote electric mobility, and located a stone's throw from the neoclassical toll buildings of Porta Venezia, temporarily wrapped in jute sacks by the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama. The municipal council member for town planning, Pierfrancesco Maran, says, "The city's switch to electric mobility is a fundamental part of the administration's plan." The show's main partners were BMW, Continental, DHL, ATM and Allianz. The Italian tape artist No Curves was asked to create a picture representing electric mobility, and the resulting artwork guided visitors through the main spaces of the BluE fair.