Koelnmesse is celebrating its centenary in 2024. A hundred years in which Koelnmesse has brought people and markets together worldwide. A hundred years in which it has reinvented itself time and again with a visionary passion for the future. This has made the vision of Konrad Adenauer, who was the Mayor of Cologne in 1924 and who later became Germany's Chancellor, of an international trade fair venue in Cologne a reality. Koelnmesse employs around 1,000 people. The city-centre trade fair at the heart of Europe is Germany’s third largest in terms of area and, encompassing almost 400,000 square metres of hall and outdoor space, it numbers among the top ten in the world. Every year, Koelnmesse organises and manages around 80 trade fairs, guest events and corporate events in Cologne, as well as in the most important markets around the world. Its portfolio attracts over 54,000 exhibiting companies from 122 countries and approximately three million visitors from more than 200 nations. In 2024, Koelnmesse will open the new Confex: a cutting-edge trade fair, congress and event location that fills a gap in Cologne's event portfolio. At Confex, the fusion of conferences and exhibitions, along with the desire to stage themes with a more intensive variety of experiences, is becoming a reality. Additionally, Cologne will be able to bring over 6,200 congress guests together in one place for the first time with Confex — a flexible, fully digitalized space that enables live and hybrid events of the highest quality. With an awareness that even established trade fairs require constant renewal in order to remain fit for the future, Koelnmesse will continue to drive innovation and international growth without forgetting its roots.
