In June of this year we reported on the “new” CebitThe IT trade fair had been struggling to attract visitors and exhibitors for some time and wanted to reposition itself with a festival-like character in 2018. However, these efforts were in vain. Deutsche Messe AG has now announced its closure.
CeBIT is history. Declining space bookings and steadily declining visitor numbers prompted Deutsche Messe AG to decide to discontinue the IT trade fair and remove it from its event portfolio. However, the industry-related digital topics will continue to be featured at HANNOVER MESSE. For the remaining CeBIT topics, high-quality specialist events will be developed, specifically targeting decision-makers in selected industries.
"In recent years, German business has repeatedly discussed the thematic overlap between HANNOVER MESSE and Cebit. We will therefore transfer the themes that fit the clear focus of HANNOVER MESSE,"
says Dr. Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe AG. In the coming weeks, the company will also conduct intensive research with the digital market to determine which topics offer potential for focused trade fairs.
“The market and trade fair landscape have changed”
Bitkom President Achim Berg comments on the end of Cebit:
"We regret that, 32 years after its first edition, Cebit is no longer a standalone event. We thank Messe Frankfurt CEO Oliver Frese and his team for their commitment and their recent bold attempt to put Cebit back on the growth path. Regardless of the positive response to the new concept, it must, of course, also be profitable for the organizer. The market and trade fair landscape have changed significantly in recent decades. Digital topics now play a crucial role in all industries. We welcome the fact that the topics surrounding Industry 4.0 will be addressed even more intensively at Hannover Messe in the future."
The new concept, which relied on the triad of trade fair, conference and festival, was unable to stop the downward trend in visitor numbers. Last year, the fair attracted around 2800 exhibitors and 120,000 visitors to Hanover. At peak times like 2001, around 850,000 guestsHowever, since the negative trend in space bookings across all thematic segments could not be halted, Deutsche Messe AG has now decided to take this abrupt and definitive step.
“The Cebit idea has reached the entire economy”
The end of the IT trade fair also brings with it personnel changes. Florian Frese, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Messe AG, requested the Executive Committee of the Supervisory Board to release him from his duties effective December 31, 2018. The committee granted this request.
"We acknowledge Mr. Frese's decision with regret and respect. It is very unfortunate to lose such an experienced trade fair organizer and board member. Frese has contributed to the events portfolio at Deutsche Messe for many years, most recently as the board member responsible for Cebit,"
says the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs Bernd Althusmann.
"Especially with the new CeBIT concept, Frese has demonstrated courage, innovative strength, and pioneering spirit. The further decline in demand for the new CeBIT is all the more regrettable, but at the same time it also shows that the CeBIT idea has reached and been embraced by the entire economy. The topics it represents, such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, etc., are now perceived as cross-cutting issues—which is also a success of CeBIT."
