Based on preliminary figures, Koelnmesse generated revenue of approximately €365 million and a profit of around €20 million in 2024, the year of its 100th anniversary, and remains on a stable course. “Our 100th anniversary was an exceptional year that reminded us of our origins while also looking ahead,” explains Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse GmbH. “Our results clearly demonstrate stability and resilience in a challenging market environment.” For Koelnmesse, 2024 was marked by significant progress at the Cologne trade fair grounds, in the expansion of its international business and in the area of sustainability. Highlights included the ceremonial opening of the new Confex event and congress centre, further international strategic expansion and pioneering measures on the path to making the entire company and its own trade fairs more resource-efficient by 2030.
According to preliminary figures, Koelnmesse generated revenue of approximately €365 million in the 2024 event year. This meant that, in what was a traditionally weaker event year, it fell slightly short of its own projected figure of €369.5 million. Net profit is expected to amount to around €20 million, following a record operating result of €42 million in the previous year. Koelncongress, the subsidiary responsible for guest events, congresses and events, contributed preliminary revenue of €38 million before consolidation to the Group’s 2024 revenue as a wholly owned subsidiary.
The company attributes the slight deviation from its revenue projections to several factors, including the ongoing consumer downturn, general economic stagnation and geopolitical uncertainties. “Trade fairs always reflect the markets in which exhibitors operate—and those markets are currently under immense pressure,” says Gerald Böse, assessing the past financial year. “Market challenges have pushed us, but they have also reinforced our resolve to make our processes even more efficient and to develop new trade fair markets,” Böse says, looking ahead to the coming years.
In 2024, the trade fair industry also faced challenging conditions that placed considerable strain on Germany as a trade fair location and on its previously established standards, such as infrastructure, transport and punctuality. In particular, repeated warning strikes in local public transport—four in the first quarter alone—noticeably impaired travel to and mobility around the trade fair grounds for visitors and exhibitors. “These disruptions not only caused logistical problems, but also cast a negative light on the reliability of the infrastructure, which is otherwise considered a strength of our trade fair location,” says Gerald Böse.
More than 34,500 exhibiting companies from 106 countries and over 2.1 million visitors from 197 countries took part in Koelnmesse’s 76 events worldwide. Trade fair highlights in Cologne included the leading international trade fairs ISM, spoga+gafa, gamescom, DMEXCO and ORGATEC. “Our annual events consistently reached the level of their previous editions in 2024, and we maintained or even improved on the excellent standard of 2023,” summarises Oliver Frese, COO of Koelnmesse, on the 2024 trade fair year. “Our biennial events performed significantly better last year than they did in 2022.”
Looking Ahead
Koelnmesse is optimistic about 2025: Anuga, taking place in October, is already fully booked, while the trade fair duo FSB and aquanale, as well as IDS (International Dental Show) and INTERZUM, have already significantly exceeded registration levels for the same point in the run-up to their previous editions. At the same time, Oliver Frese highlights the challenges of the upcoming trade fair years: “Many exhibiting companies remain loyal to us, but due to continued cost pressures, some are planning with smaller exhibition spaces. This means that our events will continue to grow, though not as quickly as originally expected. This requires foresight and flexibility from us in order to continue creating an attractive offering.” In the coming year, Koelnmesse plans to continue setting its course towards opening up new markets. “With a clear focus on our core strengths and the support of our dedicated teams, we are ideally positioned to continue our success story,” Frese concludes. In addition to a total of ten planned premieres in Germany and abroad in 2025, Koelnmesse redesigned its furniture and interior design events in cooperation with the furniture industry in 2024. From 2025 onwards, two specialised trade fair formats will be offered: idd cologne, a platform for the premium segment held every two years in October, and imm cologne, a B2B event for the consumer-oriented market, which will take place annually in January from 2026.
Strategic Steps in Internationalisation
Another focus in 2024 was the targeted strengthening of Koelnmesse’s international presence. Through new partnerships and intensified activity in global markets, Koelnmesse has taken the internationalisation of its business to a new level. These advances are reflected in new locations and event formats that make the Koelnmesse brand even more visible worldwide. Since 2023, a total of 21 trade fairs have been launched abroad, including eight premieres in 2024 and a further nine currently planned for 2025.
An outstanding example of the international expansion of successful Cologne formats is gamescom latam, which celebrated its premiere in São Paulo in June 2024 and attracted more than 100,000 visitors—the highest number ever recorded for a Koelnmesse event abroad.
Confex Grand Opening: A Milestone for the Future
A standout moment in 2024 was the inauguration of Confex, Koelnmesse’s new event and congress centre, as part of the anniversary celebrations. With capacity for up to 6,200 congress participants and state-of-the-art technology, Confex sets new benchmarks for events and symbolises Koelnmesse’s innovative strength and future-oriented approach. “Confex represents the continuous development of our infrastructure and underlines the pioneering spirit that has shaped Koelnmesse for a century,” says Gerald Böse. Booking figures already available for the coming years underline that Confex is in tune with the times and successfully fills a repeatedly identified gap in the city’s and region’s congress and corporate event market.
Sustainability
The year 2024 also marked decisive progress for Koelnmesse on its path towards making the entire company and its own events more climate-neutral from 2030 onwards. Photovoltaic systems with a total module area of 20,000 square metres were installed on Koelnmesse’s hall roofs. On the roof of Hall 11 alone, Koelnmesse operates Cologne’s largest inner-city photovoltaic system. At the same time, work began on converting the entire trade fair grounds to a geothermal heating supply from 2028. Another milestone was Koelnmesse becoming the first German trade fair company to be certified to ISO 20121 for sustainable event management. You can find the certificate here.
Koelnmesse Named “Company of the Year”
In both 2024 and 2025, Koelnmesse was named “Company of the Year” by DEUTSCHLAND TEST and FOCUS MONEY in a study conducted by the Institute for Management and Economic Research (IMWF). Once again, the company achieved the highest score, securing first place among all German trade fair venues for the second consecutive year—further independent confirmation of its commitment and corporate reputation.
“2024 was undoubtedly marked by challenges. Nevertheless, we managed our business soundly, achieved important successes and drove innovation forward. (…) This leaves us well positioned to approach the coming years with confidence,” Gerald Böse concludes.