Shortly after the official lockdown and the ban on events in Germany, a number of departments at Messe München started to think about alternative event formats, to develop ideas and assess external inquiries for the use of the locations of Messe München during the Corona period. Within a short space of time an open-air drive-in cinema, the Autokino+, was set up on the outdoor area to the north of the Messe München exhibition center. Also the ICM – Internationales Congress Center München opened its doors as a venue for state law examinations organized by the Ministry of Justice, and the MOC Veranstaltungscenter hosted the examinations of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Running in parallel with these initiatives, the team continued its efforts to attract new customers for the coming months and years – with success.
Monika Dech, Deputy Managing Director of Messe München, is pleased that “many event organizers are already, even in these unusual times, choosing our locations for events in the medium and long term. This is impressive confirmation of our excellent reputation in the sector and also of the fact that people in the world of business and commerce are most definitely looking to get back to direct, personal contacts at trade exhibitions and congresses.”
Hyper Bowl from June to September 2020
As early as April, a new kind of format was attracted to the exhibition center – this is the “Hyper Bowl”, a mixed reality studio featuring a 270° LED wall, which can be used for filming, photoshootings and product presentations. The Hyper Bowl is set up from mid June to the end of September in Hall C5; the organizers are Frank Foerster of TFN GmbH and Holger Amann of Fournell Veranstaltungstechnik.
In March 2021 it all goes digital
For next year, too, another new customer has come on board: GPEC® digital, a leading trade fair for digitization of internal security, to be held on March 24 and 25, 2021 at the Messe München exhibition center, specifically in the Conference Center Nord and in Hall C6. More than 2,300 participants from 28 countries and about 190 exhibitors from over 20 countries are expected to take part. Dr. Uwe Sabine Wagner, Managing Director of EMW Exhibition & Media Wehrstedt GmbH, the organizer of GPEC® digital, chose Messe München quite deliberately: “Following our premiere in Berlin in 2019, I would now like to move the event to the ‘IT capital of Germany’, namely Munich. The Conference Center Nord in conjunction with Hall C6, offers the best conditions for GPEC® digital. The infrastructure is first class, the conference rooms are state of the art, and – thanks to the modular system of C6 – we have flexibility in how we design the event and can expand at short notice. Also, we feel very welcome in Munich, as the Bavarian State Minister of the Interior, for Sport and Integration, Joachim Herrmann, has taken over as patron of the event.”
Cycling contest in C1
One new customer from the sports sector has also been attracted for 2022. From August 11 to 15, 2022, the cycling contest in the 2nd European Championships will be held in Hall C1 of the Messe München exhibition center. Many of the other disciplines in this multi-sports event will take place in the Olympiapark Munich – precisely 50 years after the Bavarian capital hosted the Summer Olympics in 1972.