75 years ago the Hanover Fair started as an "Export Fair". A success story from which many individual trade fairs developed. But what does all this have to do with fish sandwiches?
A visit by the US President to the Hanover Trade Fair, and thousands upon thousands of visitors to CeBIT and other exhibitions - this has repeatedly made the headlines for Deutsche Messe AG over the past few decades. But the reason why everyone was talking about the trade fair in Hanover at the beginning of its history is much more profane:fish rolls. At the first edition of the Hanover Fair in 1947 under the name "Export Fair", visitors received a fish sandwich and a glass of "fair wine" with every admission ticket - costing three Reichsmarks. The beginning of a success story.
Phone connection to New York
After the Second World War, Germany lay in ruins but was supposed to be reintegrated into the world economy. On the initiative of the British occupying forces, exhibitors in Hanover show their products for the first time in 1947 - initially in five halls with an area of 30,000 square meters.
Around 736,000 visitors from 53 countries come to the city over the 21 days of the fair. A total of 1,934 export contracts are concluded. The value:31.6 billion US dollars. And the show continues to grow rapidly - and becomes more international. In 1948 a telephone connection to New York was established. From 1950, manufacturers from abroad also come to the fair - initially from ten countries.
Hall 1 goes into the Guinness Book
At the beginning of the 1960s, the show was renamed Hannover Messe - and at the same time Messe AG laid the foundation for CeBIT, which had meanwhile become the most important IT trade fair in the world. The office and information technology center developed from the office industry trade fair. In short:CeBIT. In 1970 it moves to the new Hall 1, which is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest exhibition hall in the world. In 1986 CeBIT finally became independent.
Economic crisis hits the fair
Meanwhile, the economic crisis, including the oil price shock, is hitting the fair. At the Hanover Fair in 1975, two halls remained empty, and in 1978 even four. The fair is changing:from 29 subject areas in the 1970s to a "fair of fairs" where ten trade fairs take place simultaneously. In addition, there are always separate trade fairs - such as the LIGNA wood fair.
Hanover becomes EXPO location
In 1990 a decision was made that has shaped the exhibition grounds to this day:Hannover is awarded the EXPO 2000. This is followed by large investments in the site and the corresponding transport connections. In the early 2000s, CeBIT also continued to develop positively. In 2002, 860,000 guests came. In the years that followed, however, visitor interest steadily decreased - in November 2018, after several restructuring measures, the end of the independent computer fair was decided. To this end, Messe AG invests in its foreign business, which today accounts for a large proportion of the company's sales.
Obama is coming to Hanover
The USA is the partner country of Hannover Messe in 2016 - US President Obama is traveling to the opening.The last major highlight to date follows in 2016 - with enormous media hype. The USA is the partner country of the Hannover Messe. The then US President Barack Obama came to Hanover with the legendary "Air Forca One" and opened the industrial exhibition together with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). The pictures go around the world. However, he probably didn't bite into a fish roll.
Corona makes Hannover Messe digital
A few years later, the corona pandemic caused a shock in the industry:in 2020 the world's largest industrial show was canceled entirely. The following year it is completely relocated to the Internet. However, the organizers are quite satisfied after the five-day mix of live streams and digital presentations. According to trade fair boss Jochen Köckler, 90,000 people have registered for the digital offers. And the 1,800 exhibiting companies were grateful to be able to present their products to potential buyers. Digital elements should therefore be retained in the future and the show should become a mixture of traditional trade fair and online live streams.