There is a major new trend in the international events world: Organisers are increasingly asking for a big stages, the right venue for a grand appearance, or a mega performance. The same applies to annual general meetings and other corporate events with several thousand participants. At the same time, these events follow each other in ever more rapid succession, requiring venue operators to respond with greater flexibility. Recognising this development, Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH has invested in a new mobile grandstand system which has been available since October 2022. When assembled, the fully clad grandstand units can accommodate up to 4,332 guests in total. They feature comfortable upholstered seats and can be arranged in many different patterns. Any combination is possible – rectangular, arena-style, circular, U-shaped, you name it. A total of twelve 361-seat grandstand units are available, each weighing 26 tonnes. Thanks to its state-of-the-art rolling modules, the grandstand system can be set-up and removed in no time, contrary to scaffold-type grandstands. This minimizes set-up times, a great benefit especially when there is little time between events.
This new offer further expands the usability of HMC’s highly flexible Halls A1 to A4, allowing even more event formats with individual space arrangements to take place at the Hamburg exhibition complex. The grandstand units can also be used for concerts or sport events.
Watch the video below to see the new grandstands in action.
Personal, face-to-face meetings are finally possible again, along with all the inspiration and tangible novelties these bring: On 15 January the buyers’ fair Nordstil opened its doors for three days, the first guest event of 2022, eagerly awaited by the retail sector. Next in line were as many as three guest trade fairs – all at the first April weekend. Originally planned for the first quarter of the year, the training and job fair “Einstieg Hamburg”, the real estate fair home² and the wedding show HOCHZEITSTAGE Hamburg were finally able to take place. They kicked off an unusually tightly packed event summer, followed by an even busier autumn trade fair season.
The guest events department saw a return of flagship fairs such as the Aircraft Interiors Expo and the World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo, both of which are annual highlights, along with the Online Marketing Rockstars (OMR) Festival which counted as many as 70,000 guests. “We are very satisfied with 2022 as a guest events year. When the last Covid restrictions ended in the second quarter, we were finally able to restart normal operations, working in tandem with our event organisers and suppliers,” recapitulates Michael Wiedekamp, Head of Department – Guest Events at HMC. What makes him especially happy: Only two events were cancelled in 2022, and despite the sometimes challenging circumstances, his department generated more business in nine months than in twelve in ordinary years past.
A total of 30 guest events took place, including two first-time fairs. But that was not the only reason the exhibition campus was often crowded: During March and April 2022, and again from October until January 2023 the exhibition halls were once again used to accommodate refugees.
The campus will be just as busy in 2023: According to current plans, there will be more than 30 guest events. A special highlight, the EASD Congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes will expect around 15,000 guests in early October. Its scientific programme comprises more than 1,200 lectures and presentations on the latest results of diabetes research. Other highlights will include the OMR Festival in May and the Aircraft Interiors Expo and World Travel Catering & Onboard Services Expo in June. In January 2023, Hanse Spirit took place for the first time since 2018.
“We are looking forward to seeing numerous exciting guest events in the second half of 2023, as well,” says Michael Wiedekamp. “For example, BioNord will return to Hamburg after a prolonged absence. Then there is LEaT con, a networking convention of the events industry, which will take place for the second time after its very successful premiere in 2022. The prospects are exciting!”
„We are also expecting lots of great guest events in the second half of 2023“.
29 April 2022 heralded in a new era. It was the day Hamburg’s First Mayor, Dr Peter Tschentscher, officially opened the new CCH – Congress Center Hamburg. The building had undergone a comprehensive conversion and modernisation since January 2017. Its sheer dimensions – with a total surface area of 36,000 square metres – its advanced technology and its unique location in the centre of the city have secured the CCH a place among Europe’s top-league congress centres once again. Its architecture, based on designs by Arbeitsgemeinschaft agn leusmann/Tim Hupe Architekten, is seminal and extraordinary: Hamburg’s congress centre was one of the winners of the BDA Hamburg Architecture Award 2022.
The first business year of the new CCH was completed successfully
Since the ceremonial opening, many national and international events have already taken place at the CCH. The 42 events in the year under review included the International Conference on Ocean, Offshore & Arctic Engineering, the 65th Zonta International Convention, the 5th Youth Festival of the Deutsche Gehörlosen-Jugend e. V. and the general meeting of FC St. Pauli. In addition, numerous medical congresses returned to the CCH. Furthermore, global players such as Deloitte, PwC and Microsoft were guests with their corporate events.
It clearly showed that the CCH is once again a constant on the national and international congress map. Thanks to its great functionality and flexibility, it more than satisfies the needs of today’s congress organisers. Even large events find the top-class stage they deserve in this building. As many as 12,000 visitors can attend events at the CCH simultaneously. The centre has up to 50 multifunctional halls spread across four levels and three vertical event sections, each with their own entrances and exits.
The CCH is again well booked for 2023. More than 50 events will take place at the CCH during the year, including the ICANN78 Annual General Meeting, the GBTA Conference, VW Brand Experience, as well as BLOCKCHANCE 2023, Europe’s leading conference on blockchain technology. What is more, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) will convene at Hamburg’s CCH for the first time, holding the world’s biggest allergy and clinical immunology conference with roughly 8,000 participants from around the world. In addition, the CCH team expects up to ten company events and annual general meetings to take place at the centre. From the third quarter of 2023, the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg will open its doors for cultural events again. “There is strong interest in our new centre,” emphasises Heike Mahmoud, Chief Operating Officer of the CCH. As many as 50 bookings have already been confirmed for the years 2024 to 2027, with further contract negotiations in progress.
Highlights in the near future will include the UITP Global Public Transport Summit, which Hamburg will host in 2025 and 2027. Dedicated to public transport systems, it is considered the world’s foremost mobility congress and includes an industry fair. Another great success for the CCH is the Gold Certificate it has been awarded by the German Society for Sustainable Construction (DGNB). This makes the CCH the first, and until now, the only German congress centre to receive this certification.
