Q&A: Wolfgang Marzin
Smart Display is installing more stands across Europe than ever, and Germany in particular is a key destination for brands looking to exhibit at essential trade events. We caught up with Messe Frankfurt’s CEO for an exclusive interview, looking at how the international events industry is thriving, and why Messe Frankfurt is in a stronger position than ever following the post-pandemic resurgence of trade events.
Q: How many events does Messe Frankfurt host throughout the year?
A: In 2023 Messe Frankfurt had a total of 338 trade fairs, congresses, conferences and other events around the world, attracting around four million visitors. These included 146 trade fairs and exhibitions with around 84,200 exhibiting companies and 3.3 million visitors. These figures will continue to grow in 2024.
Q: What are some of your key exhibitions?
A: Our Group events are also the international flagship events in their respective sectors. In the field of technology, for example, these are ISH, Light + Building, IFFA and Texcare. In Consumer Goods, these are Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld. Similarly, Heimtextil, Techtextil and Texprocess are flagship events in textile & textile technologies. And Automechanika and Eurobike are prime examples in the area of mobility & logistics.
Q: What sort of footfall do these events attract on average?
A: Our event business got off to a good start after the pandemic in 2022 and set new records again internationally the following year, especially in China. A total of 813,000 visitors and 24,456 exhibiting companies came to Frankfurt for the events there.
Q: How did Messe Frankfurt survive during Covid?
A: Messe Frankfurt was not permitted to hold events during the Coronavirus pandemic but was able to safeguard its liquidity through loans from banks and from its shareholders, i.e. the City of Frankfurt and the federal state of Hesse. Some events were held as digital formats during this period. Even though they achieved a high reach, they were no match for traditional event formats where people interact face to face.
Q: When did Messe Frankfurt re-open following the pandemic, and what was your first event?
A: In April 2022, Messe Frankfurt held its first international event after the Coronavirus pandemic with Prolight + Sound – the global entertainment technology show for light, audio, stage, media and events – at its Frankfurt base. This started off the growth course that continues today.
Q: Can you describe those first few months of being “back in action” since Covid?
A: It was an indescribable feeling to be able to meet up in person again – to shake hands, hold in-person meetings and talks, and go for a meal with business associates. In moments like these, we got a very strong sense of what had been missing over the previous months and of how indispensable face-to-face interaction is.
Q: How was the exhibitions industry affected by the cessation of face-to-face events?
A: The entire event sector was hit hard by the restrictions introduced during the Coronavirus pandemic. However, it bounced back superbly in 2023 after the Coronavirus pandemic.
Q: How did industries try to overcome the effects of the pandemic?
A: Messe Frankfurt offered some features of its events online during the pandemic. Once the trade fair business had returned to the trade fair halls, we retained the online formats in our portfolio as additional digital features. This is an online extension of the live events.
Q: What has attendance been like at shows over the past two years?
A: When the event business started up again in 2022, we returned to growth and have since reached the level of pre-pandemic years.
Q: How have people’s attitudes changed towards face-to-face trade exhibitions in light on the pandemic?
A: We have seen even greater enthusiasm for face-to-face events. People are very happy to be able to see each other in person again. They got something back that is a natural and intrinsic part of being human – interacting with other people face-to-face.
Q: Are your shows more successful now?
A: Messe Frankfurt is active all over the world, with 28 subsidiaries and over 50 sales partners. At the beginning of this year, our entire Frankfurt exhibition grounds were taken up with the consumer goods trio of Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld. Over 140,000 visitors made their way to Frankfurt, even though there was a rail strike. With some 5,000 exhibitors on our booked-out exhibition grounds, we played host to the entire global consumer goods sector for five days. This is the number one order platform – there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Incidentally, this applies for all of our international trade fairs too.
Q: When did you come on board personally, and how has Messe Frankfurt evolved during that time?
A: Messe Frankfurt has been growing constantly for over 20 years. Since I joined the company as CEO in 2010, we have been able to continue this growth course together with management and with our workforce around the world.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge facing the exhibitions sector at the moment?
A: Implementing the goals for a sustainable event industry is one of the greatest challenges facing our sector. Messe Frankfurt’s binding ecological target is to be climate-neutral at its Frankfurt base by 2040 at the latest. We see this as attaining greenhouse gas neutrality and establishing a sustainable water management system. Now that we are financially independent again, we are also taking massive steps to tackle the digital transformation process in the Group and plan to complete many parts of this by 2026. With this, we have started the greatest modernisation project in Messe Frankfurt’s company history.
Q: What is your next big event, and what are you hoping to achieve?
A: Light + Building is scheduled to take place in Frankfurt between 3 and 8 March. Here, a total of 2,130 companies will be presenting innovative solutions and trends at the world’s leading trade fair for lighting and building technology. In China, Intertextile Shanghai will be taking place between 6 and 8 March with over 3,000 exhibitors. This shows that the key performance indicators at events around the world are pointing to growth and we are aiming to improve the key figures even further in 2024.
Q: How would you like Messe Frankfurt to evolve over the next few years?
A: Messe Frankfurt has been active in international markets for over 36 years with its diversified overseas strategy. The company is stepping up efforts to further develop its international portfolio, which harbours enormous potential. Around 30 events are scheduled to make their debut between now and 2025.
