Hosted events – ranging from company events to congresses – are the driving force that form the basis of success of the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center +++ Customers value the innovative architecture, the flexibility and the professional support offered by the operator Reed Exhibitions Messe Wien +++ Vienna is a favoured venue for international events +++ New in May 2008: Underground connection to the city centre +++

VIENNA (May 2008). – With the re-opening of Vienna’s congress centre Messe Wien in January 2004, a new era of the trade fair and congress scene in Austria’s capital had began. The exclusive operator of the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center is the Austrian subsidiary of the renowned, internationally leading private organiser of trade fairs, Reed Exhibitions International with its headquarters in London. The Vienna-based Reed Exhibitions Messe Wien is the organiser of international trade fairs and national public shows. The second main business in Vienna are hosted events like congresses, exhibitions, presentations, conferences and other events of different types and sizes. In 2007 alone, 676,000 visitors attended 16 of Reed’s own events and 117 hosted events held at the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center. Occupancy could be increased from 263 days in 2006 to 317 in 2007, which is an increase of 20 per cent. Amongst the hosted events were 17 conferences, six of which were conferences of international connotation.

Multi-functional and flexible
The ultra-modern modular Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center complex with the groundbreaking architecture by the international star architect Gustav Peichl is one of Europe’s most modern event and congress venues. The rooms on site have been planned to be flexible in size and offer four big dividable meeting areas. In total, up to 15 individual rooms can be offered which can host up to 3,320 persons. The rooms can, if required, also be expanded further by integrating the spacious congress foyers.

The mall of 450 metres length, connecting the three exhibition halls (halls A, B and C with a total of app. 46,000 square metres) with the multi-functional hall D (9,000 square metres) and the congress centre, forms an attractive, centrally located space which has come to be used for event catering, industry and poster exhibitions or as central meeting point. “It is the sophisticated infrastructure of the entire complex, both indoors and outdoors, which makes the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center so unique”, explains Renate Dobler-Jerabek, Director Congresses & Events at Reed Exhibitions Messe Wien. Furthermore the two multi-storey car parks A and D, the underground car park and the parking site for busses – all of these can host up to 4,300 vehicles in total – are also part of the refined infrastructure.

Any type of event can be held in the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center. “This ranges from small, but politically, economically or culturally significant company and industry meetings to big international conferences with several thousand delegates”, explains Renate Dobler-Jerabek. “It is this flexibility that makes us stand out internationally.”

Vienna: admired city in the heart of the new Europe
Vienna’s prominence and popularity is a huge advantage in the global competition. International event organisers appreciate the good infrastructure, the cultural tradition, the architecture, the style and the safety of the city as well as the superior quality of its hotels and gastronomy. In the global ranking list of all congress cities of the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) from 2007, Vienna did the hat-trick and was nominated for first rank the third time in succession. With a total number of 154 events Vienna outnumbers the second place – this time Berlin, where last year 123 international congresses took place. The third place took Singapore (120) followed by Paris (115), Barcelona (106) and Budapest neck and neck with Lisbon (90). In the ranking list of countries of the ICCA Austria hits 9th place with a total of 204 international congresses (75 % of them in Vienna). The highest number of congresses recorded the USA (467), Germany (429) and Spain (303).

The Vienna Convention Bureau (VCB) recorded in 2007 the fourth record year in succession with 2,764 national and international conferences and company events – this is an increase of 20 per cent in comparison with 2006. The 2,764 events were a total of 713 conferences (515 international and 198 national conferences) and 2,051 company events (congresses, product presentations and incentives). A total of 395,093 participants (a plus of 20 per cent in comparison to 2006) produced 1,419,044 overnight stays and surpassed the best performance until then from the year 2006 by 22 per cent. Vienna’s conference tourism has secured more than 12,077 jobs in 2007 and with this increased its contribution to the Austrian total gross domestic product by 36 per cent to 624,51 million Euros.

Investments into the infrastructure continue
From May 10, 2008, on the Messe Wien is even closer to the city centre. From that day onwards the extension of the underground line U2 stops directly in front of Messe Wien, with two stations “Messe/Prater” directly opposite entrance A and “Krieau” immediately next to entrance D. The exhibition grounds can then be reached from the city centre in only a few minutes without having to change lines directly. With the extension the Messe Wien is ideally connected to the efficient Viennese public transport system. Also in May 2008, the “Hotel Courtyard by Marriott Wien Messe” (4 stars) opened with its 251 rooms and suites, a restaurant and its own gym. With this, Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center has yet another hotel within walking distance, in addition to the Austria Trend Hotel Messe Wien (three stars plus).

Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration: Messe Wien’s new neighbour
From 2010, the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration will build its new site in direct vicinity to Messe Wien. The decision-makers for this project named the plentiful synergies with the exhibition business, in terms of content as well as space, as one of the main reasons for this decision. The area adjacent to Vienna’s leisure centre ‘Prater’, is intended to offer the app. 22,000 students of Europe’s largest university of economics a “campus-like atmosphere” and ideal conditions for their studies.

2007: the year of superlatives
“The year 2007 has been a year of superlatives for us“, states Renate Dobler-Jerabek, Director Congresses & Events at Reed Exhibitions Messe Wien. Dobler-Jerabek mentions the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology as a special highlight, which was held in 2007 (from 1 to 5 September) at Messe Wien already for the third time, after 1998 and 2003. App. 30,000 international participants travelled to Vienna to take part in Europe’s largest congress. SAPPHIRE, the international user conference of the software producer SAP, with app. 7,000 participants (from 14 to 16 May) marked another highlight of the year. Equally exceptional was the congress of the European Hematology Association (7 to 10 June) which brought over 7,000 delegates to Vienna for exchanging of information. In December (17 and 18, 2007) a large event from the Asian region took place for the first time at Messe Wien. AMWAY invited 1,200 of their best vendors from the Shanghai and Hong Kong regions to an information event and an exclusive gala dinner with an impressive entertainment programme – a very own ice show included.

Good outlook for the next years
Over the next few years the city of Vienna wants to further consolidate its position as one of the world’s most successful congress cities with the help of the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center. This undertaking is supported by the successful acquisition of notable events by the Reed team. Amongst the hosted events, the UEFA EUROTM 2008 stands out. The “International Broadcast Centre” (IBC) for this event will be set up in the Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center globally broadcasting all TV images of the entire championship from there. One of the congress highlights this year will be the “World Congress of Stroke” (25 to 27 September, 2008) – the organiser expects app. 2,000 guests.

The 36th ECTS (European Symposium on Calcified Tissues) has already signed up for 2009 with expected 3,000 participants. Also, the 58th UITP Congress (World Congress & Exhibition of the International Association of Public Transport) has been confirmed. It will take place from 7 to 11 June, with app. 3,000 participants and an adjacent large exhibition. This congress will highlight all the topics in public transport, ranging from ticket machine software to live displays for busses. Furthermore, the congress of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, ESPEN, taking place from 29 August to 1 September with app. 1,800 delegates, has also been fixed, as has the congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, EASD (27 September to 1 October), which will cover all aspects of diabetes and bring app. 16,000 participants to Vienna.

After its successful Vienna debut in 2007, the IFRA Expo, will again take place from 12 to 15 October, 2009 for the second time in Messe Wien Exhibitions & Congress Center. It is the globally most important trade exhibition including a congress for newspaper enterprises and their partners as well as the international leading trade fair for the newspaper industry. About 10,600 newspaper and media experts from 87 countries are expected to attend. (+++)

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center in figures:

• Congress Center with up to 15 rooms (a total of 6,969 square metres)
• 4 exhibition halls (a total of 55,156 square metres)
• Halls A and C are each dividable in nine separate areas
• Multi-functional hall D (exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences, shows amongst many other event type)
• The mall with 450 metres in length: a connection between the halls A to D and the Congress Center
• Parking for appr. 4,300 vehicles Hotel Courtyard by Marriott Wien Messe (4 stars) and Austria Trend Hotel Messe Wien (3 stars plus) within walking distance
• Two underground stations at each entrance, “Messe Prater“ und “Krieau“

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For further information contact:

Reed Exhibitions Messe Wien
Events Department
T: +43 (0)1 727 20-389 or -206
E: congress@messe.at