IMEX, Germany's leading trade fair for the meeting industry will be held from May 22 – 24 on the Frankfurt Fairgrounds. DüsseldorfCongress will be one of 3,500 exhibitors from 150 countries worldwide which are eagerly looking forward to satisfying the great interest of nearly 9,000 agents from the international event industry. Agents from 68 countries are expected, including from the up-and-coming 'BRIC' countries (Brasil, Russia, India and China), which play in ever increasingly important international role. Approximately 16% of the agents will represent the influential German market and its high purchasing power.

DüsseldorfCongress regularly attends IMEX in Frankfurt, the leading trade fair for meetings and incentive trips, to share information about its large portfolio of halls. Given its successes in 2011, DüsseldorfCongress will again be able to present itself in the best light, backed up by convincing numbers: last year, the company held a total of 2,816 events with 1.97 million visitors in its facilities. That's up from 2.410 events and 1.80 million visitors in 2010. DüsseldorfCongress representatives are looking forward to interesting conversations and exchanges with you at the DüsseldorfCongress counter at the Germany stand (F100/counter 17) in Hall 8.

About IMEX in Frankfurt

IMEX, recognized as the leading trade fair in the international event industry, provides the ideal platform to develop and maintain customer relationships and to close business deals. An additional motivation to attend the trade fair are the extensive educational programs and the many 'IMEX Vision Projects' to support the sustainable and future-oriented development of the international MICE industry.

As Ray Bloom, Group Chairman, describes the benefits of IMEX 2012: 'Even though our exhibitors come from 157 countries, they are all united by one and the same challenge – which is to canvass constantly for new customers and develop their businesses. IMEX has successfully developed from a pure trade fair into an international marketplace for the event industry that meets the diverse and individual requirements of modern companies in today's dynamic and global environment.“

The annual Sports Business Summit (SpoBiS), Europe's largest sport business convention, will be held in Düsseldorf for the second time on February 13-14, 2012. Approximately 1,500 participants and 150 top German and international experts in sports, politics and business are expected to gather at the CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf in the capital of North Rhine-Westfalia for the two-day convention. The convention will be hosted by the European Sponsoring Börse (ESB) and the trade magazine SPONSORs.

Every year, a steady stream of the who's-who of the sporting world takes the SpoBiS stage. This year's all-star lineup includes the managing director of Borussia Dortmund, Thomas Treß, the chairman of the supervisory board of FC Schalke 04, Clemens Tönnies, and the founder of SAP, Dietmar Hopp. The key points on the agenda at this 16^th Sports Business Summit are sustainability in sports, how sport reporting has changed in the digital era, and of course the upcoming Olympic Games in London. The winner of the 'Sports Marketing Award' will also be announced during the SpoBiS convention again this year.

Before SpoBiS was held in Düsseldorf for the first time in 2011, it used to be held in Munich. In cooperation with sportAgentur Düsseldorf, DüsseldorfCongress Veranstaltungs-GmbH bid to host the trade convention and won out against competitors in Berlin, Leipzig and Munich. The convention will be held in Düsseldorf for the next four years.

The Sports Business Summit is an excellent opportunity for the city of Düsseldorf to actively promote its image as a sports city internationally. In addition to the 1,500 participants, many media partners from across Europe will also be represented at the trade convention. 'During SpoBiS, we will also have the chance to further deepen the contacts we already have with sports and show event organizers as well as to make new contacts,' explains Hilmar Guckert, management spokesperson of DüsseldorfCongress. 'The congress is an excellent opportunity to present our arenas first hand to a broad base of industry players and interested event organizers.'

The forum 'Business Location Attractiveness Factor Sport' on the first day of the convention will also draw special attention to the capital city of Düsseldorf. The issue of business location attractiveness will be presented and discussed using Düsseldorf as an example, looking at sport's economic and image-building potential for municipalities.

For further information about the 16^th Sports Business Summit (SpoBiS) on February 13-14, 2012 in CCD Congress Center Düsseldorf, please see www.spobis.de.