Nuremberg (dpa/lby) – NürnbergMesse, one of the largest trade fair organizers in Germany, celebrated a comeback last year after a forced break due to the pandemic. With 981,000 visitors at 135 events worldwide and 23,600 exhibitors, the level of the two previous crisis years was clearly exceeded, said Managing Director Roland Fleck on Tuesday in Nuremberg.

Sales increased to more than 250 million euros – in the comparison year 2020 it was only 110 million. For 2023, the fair, supported by the Free State of Bavaria and the City of Nuremberg, expects sales of around 230 million euros. The years with odd numbers are traditionally lower in sales because some trade fairs take place every two years in even years. They are currently lagging behind the expected development without a pandemic by about five years, it said.

Co-managing director Peter Ottmann announced that the trade fair would invest again in the future. 40 million euros are earmarked for this in the current year. Among other things, the roofs of the exhibition halls are to be equipped with photovoltaic systems and the electricity generated can be secured by battery storage. A second construction phase is to be added later. In the final phase, the trade fair wants to be 80 percent self-sufficient in terms of electricity.

According to its own statements, the NürnbergMesse Group is one of the 15 largest trade fair companies in the world. The group employs more than 1000 people at eleven locations in Germany, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Greece, Austria and the USA.