To mark its 100th anniversary, Koelnmesse is opening its new event and congress location Confex with space for 6,200 guests, directly at the Cologne Messe/Deutz ICE railway station in Germany.
Koelnmesse hosted a grand opening ceremony for Europe’s most cutting-edge event and congress centre: Confex. The technologically and environmentally groundbreaking new building creates new opportunities for innovative event formats in the region. After almost three years of construction, a core element of the one-billion-euro investment programme Koelnmesse 3.0 is launching on schedule.
The centrepiece of the Confex building, with a total size of 20,500 square metres, is the Confex Hall, which can be divided into three sections and has space for 4,300 people. There are also two conference levels with 22 rooms, which can be used for a wide array of event formats thanks to the variety of sizes ranging from 27 to 205 square metres. As part of one of the world’s largest exhibition centres, Confex is connected to additional, functionally flexible spaces, meaning that additional capacity can be added as necessary.
“With the new opening, Koelnmesse is closing a gap that has existed in our trade fair infrastructure for quite some time. As an especially attractive venue for congresses and hybrid events for over 6,000 guests, Confex will draw entirely new events and target groups to Cologne. This is why the city and state, as shareholders, have supported the construction of Confex, even in difficult times,” says Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne and Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Koelnmesse.
“Completion of the new Confex, a location for trade fairs, congresses and events, creates a facility that provides decisive support to Koelnmesse as it positions its events in the future trade fair world,” says Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse GmbH.
The new venue is enjoying market success right from the start: Koelncongress, Koelnmesse subsidiary and marketer of Confex, already has bookings and requests until the end of 2029. “Confex will already host its first events in summer 2024. Many of the organisers are coming to Cologne for the first time,” says Koelncongress General Manager Ralf Nüsser. From autumn onwards, major multi-day events will also be held at Confex, including the UFI Global Congress of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry in November 2024.
