What a great relief to be able to test, sense, smell, taste and chat together again: At INTERNORGA 2022, the industry’s longing for face-to-face interaction and knowledge-sharing was literally palpable. Originally, Europe’s leading trade show for gastronomy and hospitality had been scheduled for February. But since it was not possible to guarantee a safe event at the customary quality level at that time due to the Covid pandemic, INTERNORGA was postponed by another six weeks. That made the joy of reuniting even greater when INTERNORGA was the first major trade fair to open its gates after the lockdown from 30 April until 4 May. Considering the challenging conditions in the hospitality sector during the pandemic, this was a successful relaunch, with as many as 950 exhibiting companies from 27 nations present to showcase their innovations, trends and solutions to their industry customers. It sent an important positive signal. The trade fair featured a new exhibition area dedicated to the trending topic of packaging and delivery. Plus, the forward-looking topic of digitalisation had a hall all to itself for the first time. The accompanying congress programme at the CCH attracted nearly 2,000 participants. When the fair ended, it received ample praise from exhibitors and industry visitors alike, all of whom expressed optimism for the future.
The “Karoviertel” district: This is our community
What do the rock band Madsen, DJ Oli.P and rapper Booz have in common? They all appeared at the third 45Hertz Open Air Festival at the TV Tower from 5 to 14 August 2022 – and it was a roaring success: ten days, ten events, and more than 10,000 guests, plus a fantastic atmosphere. Finally it was possible to have fun together again! “To us, it is extremely important that our festival harmonises well with the Karoviertel community. In everything we do, we stick to our three fundamental values: Tolerance, diversity and cultural variety,” says Mareike Frigoni from elbmenschen, the company that organised the event. Coming back after the pandemic, the group presented a new logo which, they say, “pays homage to the TV tower and HMC”.
The vision is clear: “We want to use the KAROLINE building to create a place where culture and business can find space for many different purposes, a place that unites people from all industries; a place rooted in respecting diversity that releases creativity and inspires. This is why the individual storeys of KAROLINE conceptually build upon each other.”
Daniel Frigoni, who likewise works at elbmenschen, emphasises: “It is really great to see how the idea we had for this beautiful historic building is now materialising. Subculture is a strong foundation, and the mixture of night and day is simply ingenious.”
In the past the structure was the office building of the “Karoline” coal-fired power station. In the 1990s parts of the building were demolished to make space for the new Lagerstrasse street. After many years of emptiness and disuse, KAROLINE began serving as a venue for all different kinds of cultural and other events from 2015. And that is exactly what an exhibition campus in the heart of the city should do. What other exhibition complex can you think of that shelters under its roof a techno club that is famous far beyond city boundaries, plus a sound studio? Our event organisers are among those who appreciate the 400 square metres of event spaces in the neo-Gothic redbrick building: From the SMM Start-Up Area to the Green Room, the VIP Lounge to the OMR 2022: The KAROLINE is the perfect venue for unique side events. “We don’t do one-size-fits-all events,” says the CEO of elbmenschen GmbH, Christian Sinn. “We are up for taking every enquiry individually, thinking it through, building a concept and then turning it into a unique event. We always walk the famous extra mile. Sounds trite, but it’s true: We love what we are doing here.”
From the heating transition to energy efficiency and drinking water hygiene, GET Nord was an impressive demonstration of how advanced building services engineering can optimise processes and methods while helping to realise savings potential. Furthermore, the exhibiting companies covering electrical engineering, sanitation, heating and air conditioning showcased smart digitalisation and electrification solutions that can contribute to the climate goals, among other benefits. Germany’s only joint industry fair focused on building services has long established itself as an information and know-how sharing hotspot for northern Germany’s skilled crafts and trades. The fair ended on 19 November after three busy days, and all industry representatives present expressed their positive impressions.
Following the successful GET Nord 2022, Project Head Michael Arfmann, who had been in charge of the fair for many years, passed the baton to Danny Enwerem. Well connected in the electrical engineering and building services industry, the new project head will work closely with partner companies to further expand and develop the fair concept. He will continue the work begun by Michael Arfmann, who had overseen GET Nord since its launch in 2008. After working at Hamburg Messe und Congress for 45 years, Michael Arfmann has started his well-earned retirement. By the way: The next GET Nord will take place from 21 to 23 November 2024.
After a four-year Covid-enforced break, the time had come: The international maritime community was finally able to meet for a face-to-face SMM in Hamburg again. The anniversary edition of the leading international maritime trade fair, themed “Driving the Maritime Transition”, saw 2,000 exhibiting companies and over 30,000 industry visitors from more than 100 countries gather in the well-filled exhibition halls.
Everyone’s great expectations were not met with disappointment: SMM delivered plenty of inspiration to drive the maritime energy transition. The industry itself has committed to the goal of achieving climate-neutral shipping by 2050. For shipyards, engineering companies, fuel producers and suppliers, the need to exchange ideas and expertise is greater than ever. That is exactly what they did extensively at the 30th SMM, especially on and around the new “Transition Stages” where specialists presented the latest discoveries and product novelties in new networking formats.
Featuring top-flight experts, the segment-specific conferences were likewise highly sought-after opportunities for knowledge-sharing and dialogue. Topics included digitalisation (Maritime Future Summit), ocean research (Offshore Dialogue), as well as security and defence (International Conference on Maritime Security & Defence). A conference which received special attention this year was gmec (global maritime environmental congress). All those fascinated by the shipping world will not have to wait too long for the next SMM: It will drop anchor in Hamburg from 3 to 6 September 2024.
It isn’t a secret that the people of Hamburg enjoy celebrating whenever there is an opportunity. The harsher was the disappointment for ship enthusiasts and fans of the Port of Hamburg when it became clear that they had to relinquish “their” port anniversary celebrations for a couple of years due to the Covid restrictions. But then, in September 2022, around 800,000 people were able to gather again to thoroughly celebrate the 833rd Port Anniversary, unfazed by the rather dismal weather conditions. Impressive tall ships, historical museum ships and numerous other vessels and boats opened the maritime festival, stretching along the Elbe promenade between the fish market and the Elbphilharmonie building. Highlight followed upon highlight. Stars such as Selig, Roachford, Pohlmann and Lotto King Karl made the HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY rock.
Goosebump moments were delivered from the great hall of the Elbphilharmonie where several concert performances took place, displayed on a high-resolution open-air screen outside. Exhibitions, activity areas such as the pirate village, open air dance floors, markets and chillout areas made sure there was no danger of boredom. Needless to say, culinary pleasures were part of the concept: Partner nation Croatia showed its best side at the Kehrwiederspitze point. As always, the HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY was organised by the city of Hamburg. Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH has been in charge of organising the time-honoured annual mega event on behalf of the city since 1994.
More than 800 speakers, 250 masterclasses, 70,000 visitors: The OMR festival is getting bigger and bigger. In 2022 it once again moved the city of Hamburg into the centre of the international digital scene. OMR founder Philipp Westermeyer and his team once again made sure the occasion was worthwhile for everyone. Not only were there plenty of extensive discussions, there were enough partying opportunities, as well. The long list of star guests at the well-filled exhibition halls included actor Ashton Kutcher and director Quentin Tarantino.
Throughout the first day, the conference stage served as a platform presenting visions, new concepts and forward-looking projects in mobile computing. On the second day of the festival, the programme on the conference stage revolved around current key trends in the digital realm. For the first time, the OMR festival featured the Finance Forward Conference, a stage dedicated entirely to the transformation of the finance sector, where the industry’s top-tier gathered to exchange views about key trends and questions on fintechs, neo-banking and the cryptocurrency scene.
In terms of visitor numbers, the OMR festival has become one of the world’s top-ranking marketing events. This may in part be attributable to the gigantic supporting programme offered by the organisers. For example, the parties at the stands of major exhibitors are legendary. In 2022 they included industry giants such as Meta, Google and Salesforce. In addition, there were 11 live concerts featuring stars like Sido, RIN, Marteria, Kraftklub and Zoe Wees. “The OMR22 comeback is a professional masterpiece all contributors can be very proud of,” said Philipp Westermeyer after the event. Presumably he and his team will return for the next thrilling editions of the OMR festival in Hamburg.
