After an enforced gap of three years, the Spielwarenmesse reasserted its position as the biggest event of the sector. Between 1 and 5 February at the exhibition centre in Nuremberg, personal networking, product innovations and establishing new contacts came top of the agenda.
“We’re just delighted. It’s wonderful to see visitors’ eyes light up again after three long years,” said Markus Grossweischede, summing up the fair. The Hasbro General Manager North Europe spoke for many of the 2100+ exhibitors from 69 countries who were presenting their new product ideas in Nuremberg. After such a long period of abstinence, the fair organiser could take nothing for granted. Said Christian Ulrich, Spokesperson of the Executive Board at Spielwarenmesse eG: “We are very happy with this positive result, which at close to pre-pandemic levels has exceeded our expectations.” As many as 95% of exhibitors rated participation in the industry event as important or very important. And 92% expressed themselves satisfied or very satisfied with the way it went.
The new elements, too, had an international character. With over 140 games authors from some 20 countries, the Internationale Spieleerfindermesse – Game Inventors Convention celebrated a successful premiere on the Friday of the fair. “By integrating this established event into the Spielwarenmesse, we were able to exploit the synergies,” said Christian Ulrich in his summing up. “We are expecting strong growth in future years.” The daytime event was rounded off with GamingHour, involving about 300 games authors and editors, and with the award of the DuAli Games Prize from the Ali Baba Games Club.
Another new event was similarly well received by exhibitors and visitors alike: the RedNight. “A new format such as RedNight also underpins business and personal contact,” declares Thorsten Koss, Managing Director of Gollnest & Kiesel. Over 140 exhibitors joined in the celebration. Among further highlights was the Model Railways & Model Construction OPEN DAY. With this, the Spielwarenmesse was fulfilling the long-held wishes of exhibitors as it opened up Hall 7A at the weekend – over 3,000 consumers took up the offer.
The next edition of the fair takes place at the end of January 2024.
