London, Istanbul or Vienna? Often it is Hamburg that wins the race

What’s new in Renewable Energy? What makes the difference in state-of-the-art marketing? What are key trends in retail or golf? What professional careers are most promising? These and many other topics were discussed at the numerous guest events held on Hamburg’s exhibition campus in 2024. “During the year under report, we were able to welcome a total of 40 guest events. This is a new record that tells us that our event campus, with its modern, flexible halls and multiple access options, is more attractive to our guests than ever,” says Michael Wiedekamp, Director Contract & Partnership Development, who is in charge of guest events at the HMC site. 

Faithful and welcome regular guests in 2024 included the training fair Einstieg, the fashion show Nordstil, the HR fair Zukunft Personal Nord, along with Hanse Golf, the Aircraft Interior Expo, and the OMR Festival. Furthermore, as part of the municipal infrastructure, the Hamburg exhibition halls provided shelter to refugees both at the beginning and towards the end of the year under report, helping people arrive in Hamburg safely and feel well taken care of.

The social game fair Spielemesse Hamburg celebrated a come-back, turning the eastern entrance area into a paradise for all fans of board and parlour games. The two-day Hydrogen Technology Expo Europe was a highlight among the new guest events. “With WindEnergy Hamburg, SMM and the Hydrogen Technology Expo, we now have as many as three global flagship fairs that jointly form an enormously important platform for advancing the energy transition,” stresses Michael Wiedekamp. 

Counting around 50 guest events, 2025 promises to be another colourful and successful year. For example, the Hydrogen Technology Expo will be twice the size it was in its inaugural year. Four of the seven new guest events are trade fairs, including an exhibition for funeral directors. For the AWS Summit 2025 in June, which will unite technology enthusiasts with the Who’s Who of the cloud computing segment, it’s now Hamburg instead of Berlin. Another June highlight will be the UITP Summit Hamburg 2025, making Hamburg the hub of the international mobility sector. Other cities had hoped to attract the show; however, in a multistage selection process, Hamburg prevailed against Vienna, Geneva and Istanbul in the final round.The UITP Summit is known world-wide as the foremost congress for public transport, bringing together over 10,000 experts from around the globe to drive the mobility transition. Finally, towards the end of the year, the Cruise Ship Interiors (CSI) Design Expo Europe will call at Hamburg rather than London for the first time, ready to support the local maritime industry in future. “We enjoy making Hamburg’s exhibition campus an exciting venue for everybody by offering many formats and themes,” summarises Michael Wiedekamp. “When we succeed, it really warms all of our hearts here at HMC.”