FESPA has revealed plans to grow its annual exhibition by 50 per cent next year when it returns to Munich.
In an exclusive interview with Michael Ryan, head of global business development at FESPA Global Print Expo, the show could grow by 50 per cent to net exhibition space of 32,000 square metres in 2023 as the show returns to its notional ‘home’ of Munich, but this is dependent on a number of external factors.
“It’s incredible to have the show back this year to the scale that people expect from a FESPA event. But of course, not everyone is ready to do events, and not everyone was ready to come back,” Ryan said.
“Germany, for example, only opened up in April and restrictions have eased, especially for events. And now you can see at the show, attendee confidence is back. The doors are open and everyone is here doing business.”
Ryan confirmed that bookings have already started to be taken for next year’s show in Munich which will take place from 23-26 May 2023.
“We have already taken a lot of bookings across the six halls in Munich and from the floor plans I have seen so far – they are already two-thirds full – and that is before we have been able to start thinking about all of the companies who couldn’t be here this year such as the Chinese, Japanese and Korean companies which could represent an additional 150 exhibitors.
“We are currently in a post-pandemic phase right now, so we are currently aiming to return to the six halls at Munich – but we have got further expansion opportunities if required.”
FESPA has also confirmed that the annual exhibition will move to Amsterdam in March 2024.
“We are selecting venues which we know work really well and really successfully not just in terms of visitor numbers but also from a planning and logistical perspective,“ he added.
Overall, Ryan is happy with the feedback from the 2022 event.
“The feedback from exhibitors has been that they are happy and they are doing business and signing deals. This year has been a great event for both the manufacturers and the print community to come together and make the investment decisions in person that they have been wanting to make for their businesses. When you attend a FESPA show there are no tyre kickers – the buyers understand the technology. We expect the global industry will continue to commit to the four days of FESPA once a year – to meet up and do the business,” he said.
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