“Fascinating FIBO”, “FIBO fitter than ever”, “Crowd-puller FIBO”, the specialist press reported after FIBO 2011. And indeed, this international trade show for fitness, wellness and health once again posted new records: 58,100 visitors, 581 exhibitors, and an impressive floorspace of 75,000sq m across 12 exhibition halls.
FIBO 2012 – which takes place in Essen, Germany, from 19–22 April – will be the biggest FIBO ever before moving to an even larger space in Cologne in 2013.
This year, 60,000 visitors from more than 100 countries are expected, as well as 600 exhibitors from 35 countries. FIBO will also be even more varied and international this year; companies from outside Europe are increasingly taking advantage of the event to premiere their products and innovations.
International participation
About 30 per cent of trade visitors come from abroad, with 13 per cent of these from non-European countries. FIBO’s growing significance abroad is also evident from the trends among exhibitors: 45 per cent are international, with the three top regions/nations being the US/Canada, Italy and the UK.
FIBO event director Olaf Tomscheit says: “We will pay particular attention to further expanding international participation, since the entire industry is growing together, especially on the European continent.”
After last year’s successful premiere, FIBO will be inviting 250 international visitors to the second International Reception on the roof terrace of the Hotel Atlantic on the Thursday night.
The popular shuttle service from Düsseldorf International Airport is also continued, and will be available one day before FIBO opens its gates. To assist the large number of international visitors in organising their travel, FIBO even offers its own accommodation and travel service. Contact details and more information are available at the Travel Center on www.fibo.de. The site also offers a Ticket Shop where visitors can register for FIBO, buy tickets and print them out at home – saving money and avoiding queues on-site.
FIBOmed
Health as a focal theme will be developed further with the innovative FIBOmed concept (www.fibo-med.de). This will showcase everything to do with health: from diagnostic equipment, training equipment and functional therapy methods to professional health consulting. Plans for a FIBOmed congress in 2013 are underway, to be held in co-operation with MedCongress, a subsidiary of FIBO organiser Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH.
Conventions and Competitions
FIBOactive will again offer a multitude of join-in and stage programmes. In Hall 5 the emphasis will be on the international DFAV Convention, with participants from all over the world learning the latest choreography from top international presenters. Meanwhile, the Fit for Fun Cycling Festival is the meeting place for cycling fans.
FIBO POWER is the meeting place for the bodybuilding and weight training community in Europe. It includes the FIBO Strongman Classics, the FIBO Powerlifting Challenge and the competition Miss FIBO POWER Beauty. For information: www.fibo-power.de
The latest training equipment will be highlighted by the FIBO Innovation Award seal. Stars were born in these awards: products like Power Plate started their course through fitness studios around the world by winning this prize.
