After the relocation of Riem airport into Erdinger Moos the construction of the new Munich Trade Fair was immediately initiated on the large ground of the former airfield. The former location at Schwanthaler Höhe has not only become too small, but also the restricted parking facilities and a higher flexibility of the exhibition halls gave reasons for a new trade fair area. Within no time a highly modern complex with the adjacent congress centre ICM was finalised.

Right from the start "Ecology" has been a key word within the fair complex. On the halls' roof tops the largest photovoltaic machine with a power of 2,7 Megawatt (MW) per year was installed. Around 3.300 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are avoided through this regenerative way of electricity. The atrium represents the green lung and a precious relaxation area for stressed visitors.

Every year arund 30.000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries come together in Munich to present their products and services to 2 million visitors from 180 countries. Ispo, the greatest sports article fair world wide (2x a year, winter and summer), is one of the most famous fairs among others. Also the Systems, after Hannover's CeBit Germany's computer fair no. 2 and the CBR, an exhibition of caravan, boat and travels.

Every three years the building industry meets in Munich. Bauma, the largest fair worldwide for construction machineries then populates the state capital and requires far more space than just the trade halls. On the large outdoor facilities you can see enormous machines. To be prepared for the international competition and to offer more possibilities for the next bauma in 2010, the Munich Trade Fair acquired 320.000 m² of the area.

16 halls and a number of parkings as well as two subway stops (west and east of the trade centre) seem to guarantee great success. The square footage of the entire complex meanwhile measures one square kilometer.

In 2006, during the World Cup summer and the visit of the Pope the Munich  Trade Fair enjoyed high media coverage. The international media centre of FIFA World Cup 2006 was the largest of its kind in the FIFA history and hosted 90 TV and radio stations on 30.000 m² with over 2.000 staff members from over 60 countries. Shortly after that Pope Benedikt celebrated a divine service with over 250.000 visitors, that partly pilgrimaged the several kilometers from the city.

The International Congresszentrum (ICM) hosts shareholders meetings of big Munich corporations as well as the Media Days. The Messestadt Riem was the home of the National Garden exhibition in 2006 whose space now is used as a park for residents.

by Dietmar Stanka