Germany is home to many of the world’s leading events, but now more than ever it is taking its shows abroad.
- Words by Antony Reeve-Crook
While many of the world’s largest private organisers are based in the UK, the biggest shows in the world take place in Germany.
According to AUMA, the German exhibition industry association, two thirds of the world’s leading international trade fairs take place in Germany. Its trade fair market is growing (from EUR3.4bn in 2015 to EUR3.9bn in 2016), and today we are seeing trends emerging among Germany’s trade fair companies including digitalisation, changes in industry represented, business models and internationalisation.
As one of Europe’s largest scientific locations, Berlin offers a high concentration of research institutions, a network between science and research supported by around 300 universities, research institutions and technology parks. Berlin has a rapidly growing start-up scene covering a wide range of industries, whether it is transportation, food, healthcare, fintech or even blockchain technology.
The city has a strong health industry sector and is well known for its tourism and entertainment businesses.
The company’s wide-ranging portfolio includes the five leading global trade fairs ITB, IFA, InnoTrans, Fruit Logistica and the International Green Week.
Messe Berlin increases its international reach by introducing another trade fair in China this year (China Fruit Logistica) bringing its total to five CE China, ITB China, China Fruit Logistica, ITB Asia and Asia Fruit Logistica.
Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region are home to sectors such as finance and insurance, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, information technology and data management, and logistics and mobility.
This is supported by being one of the most accessible destinations in Europe, with more than 260 direct connections from Frankfurt Airport, an enviable railway network and one of the most important motorway junctions in Germany.
In 2017 a total of 148 trade fairs and exhibitions were organised under the Messe Frankfurt umbrella, attended by an estimated 95,000 exhibitors and 4.2 million visitors.
Over 230 guest events were held at Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, attracting some 1.7 million exhibitors, visitors and participants. These include high-profile events such as the International Motor Show (IAA), IMEX and the Frankfurt Book Fair. Among the most international events are CPHI Worldwide, the international platform for the pharmaceutical industry, and Food Ingredients Europe, the global meeting place for food and drink innovations.
The Franchise Expo, the meeting point for new and established franchise brands from all sectors, made its debut on the Frankfurt exhibition grounds in 2018 while ACHEMA, the world forum and leading show for the process industries, took place as part of its regular three-year cycle.
Strategically, the company is clustering its event portfolio in five business fields: Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries, Consumer Goods, Mobility & Logistics, Technology and Textiles & Textile Technologies.
Messe Frankfurt is modernising and serving its growing guest event business with the construction of Hall 12 in time for Automechanika 2018, the renovation of Hall 6 between 2018 and 2019, the dismantling of Hall 5 (including revitalisation of Messe Frankfurt Congress Center) following the Frankfurt Book Fair 2019 until the end of 2022.
Messe Frankfurt’s international diversification continues with international brands including Ambiente, Beautyworld, ISH, Light + Building, Automechanika, Heimtextil, Musikmesse and Prolight + Sound.
Its business abroad continues to grow steadily. In this year alone, 20 new events from a wide cross-section of business fields will be added to its portfolio. For instance, with the International Elevator and Escalator Expo (IEE Expo) in Mumbai between 27 February and 1 March 2018. It also launced the E2 Forum Milan in Italy in 2016.
“Our worldwide network is becoming increasingly close-knit and now has 30 subsidiaries – including our newest subsidiary in the UK – and more than 50 sales partners,” says president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, Wolfgang Marzin.
At Hamburg Messe und Congress, the key talking point is the modernisation of Congress Center Hamburg (CCH), which will be refurbished for a total cost of EUR194m until the year 2020, investment it hopes will lead to the creation of one of Europe’s leading five convention centers.
Key industries in the city include renewable energy, the maritime industry, logistics and the aircraft industry, given Hamburg’s status as the world’s number three civil aviation destination, following Seattle and Toulouse.
Most notable events are Internorga, Europe’s leading trade show for food service and hospitality; SMM, the leading international maritime trade fair, and WindEnergy Hamburg - the global on- and offshore expo.
Hamburg Messe und Congress launched two new trade fairs in 2017: home² is a show for real estate, construction and refurbishment, and Hamburg Motor Classics is its new show for automobile culture and lifestyle. 
Among its largest events, WindEnergy Hamburg is its most recent addition, with the inaugural show having taken place in 2014.
Germany’s media capital Cologne, situated at the heart of the European Union, is 500km from 155 million Europeans with over two-thirds of the EU’s gross domestic product.
The University of Cologne, which has more than 49,000 students, is one of the biggest universities in Germany. The city is also home to the Institute of Trade Fair Management, which was jointly established by Koelnmesse and the University of Cologne in 1999, is exclusively devoted to the training of managers for the trade fair industry.
Koelnmesse’s claims areas of expertise in ‘Global Competence in Food and FoodTec’, with trade fairs such as Anuga and ISM, ‘Global Competence in Furniture, Interiors and Design’, with IMM Cologne and Orgatec, for example, and ‘digital media, entertainment and mobility’, which addresses important future-oriented themes at events such as Gamescom, Photokina and Dmexco.
The venue and organiser plans to make major investments in the future of the exhibition centre until 2030. The venue hopes to create the world’s most attractive inner-city exhibition centre so that it can continue to provide exhibitors and visitors with an appropriate setting for trade fairs, congresses and other events in the future.
The plan is titled Koelnmesse 3.0 and encompasses investments of more than EUR600m until 2030. The plan includes the construction of the new Hall 1 plus which, with an area of up to 10,000sqm, will be available for use purely as a congress hall or as an exhibition hall.
