Life at the CityCube Berlin began with the demonstration of a symbolic heartbeat onMay 5, 2014. One year after the opening of the new congress and exhibition hall, it has climbed the ranks of the national and international market for events and is in excellent health and thriving.
That is due not only to the medical congresses that have taken place here over the last 12 months, attended by tens of thousands of delegates. With its many large-scale congresses, leading international fairs and all types of events this multi-purpose venue in Berlin has been able to make its mark on the international market for events very soon after its launch.
CityCube – huge demand for a versatile venue
Since May 2014, events in the CityCube Berlin have been attended by more than 52,000 delegates from around the world as well as tens of thousands of visitors to trade fairs. Congress events and trade fairs make up 70 and 30 percent of occupancy respectively.
“This venue has achieved very respectable figures,” said a delighted Dr. Ralf G. Kleinhenz, head, Events division, Messe Berlin. “Including construction and dismantling periods the venue has been occupied 81.5 percent of the time, an excellent statistic for its first year on the market.”
Dr. Kleinhenz added, “Our customers from Germany and abroad appreciate the versatile nature of this venue. What is more, the ability to switch between trade fairs and congresses or corporate events and AGMs in no time at all is one of our team’s strong points.“
That is something that worked very well at this year’s general meeting of Daimler AG. After many years in the ICC Berlin, it was the first time that the shareholders of the global vehicle manufacturer held their meeting in the CityCube.
“We were especially delighted with the positive feedback received from this customer,” said Dr. Kleinhenz.
During IFA 2014, the CityCube had a first opportunity to demonstrate its outstanding flexibility, with trade fairs and congresses taking place at the same time. In the meantime leading trade fairs including InnoTrans, the Green Week, Fruit Logistica and the International Tourism Exchange have made use of this versatile venue, for holding exhibitions on the two main floors and hosting conferences, seminars, workshops and press conferences.
During this year’s ITB alone, over 200 conferences and seminars attended by experts took place in the CityCube.
The new congress and exhibition hall is directly adjacent to the main south entrance of the grounds and can be accessed from Hall 7, which also has conference facilities. Dr. Kleinhenz said, “This combination allows us to organise event of all sizes on the grounds.“
The stage is set for the future
Since its launch the CityCube Berlin has been a venue for presenting and debating forward-looking topics, at trade fairs as well as congresses. Thus, the topic of smart homes featured in the keynote speeches at IFA 2014, and an international seminar on biofuels took place in the CityCube at the Green Week 2015. From May 20 to 22, more than 20 conferences will be debating the topic of smart cities.
They are all being organized by Metropolitan Solutions, the world’s largest trade fair and conference on the future of cities. Themes on the subject of smart and sustainable urban development include energy supplies, transportation concepts, networked lighting systems, sensor networks and funding. Metropolitan Solutions has relocated from Hannover to the capital and deliberately chose the CityCube Berlin for its conference events.
New topics: That is what numerous corporate events held by leading IT companies in the CityCube Berlin stand for. Thus, in April of this year two conferences took place held by the software company SAP and Apps World Germany. In November, the focus will be on the latest innovations at Net App Insight 2015, which after making a first appearance in 2014 chose the CityCube as the venue for its second event. Only a few weeks later, from Feb. 15 to 19, 2016, another major IT event will be taking place: Cisco Live, which is the biggest event organized by this global concern outside the USA.
Focal point of the medical world
Large-scale medical congresses continue to be the mainstay of business at Messe Berlin. Thus, in June the first congress of the European Academy of Neurology will be taking place in the CityCube Berlin. Around 8,000 specialists from Germany and abroad are expected to attend.
In October the 28th annual congress of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine will also be attracting participants from many countries. The organizers anticipate around 7,000 delegates from all parts of Europe.
Other important events include the 50th annual conference of the German Diabetes Society in May (7,500 participants) and the long-standing Medicine and Health Congress in the Capital in June, which is expected to attract around 8,000 participants. In November some 9,000 experts are due to attend the Congress of the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatic Medicine and Neuropsychiatry (DGPPN). Occupancy rates will remain high in 2016. Especially in the case of large-scale medical congresses bookings are made well in advance. Already, some have been taken for 2021, and talks have begun to secure bookings for the years to follow as well.
