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BAU 2011: On The Road To The World's Leading Trade Fair

Following record figures for visitor attendance at the last event, the next BAU in 2011 will have a new subtitle: the World's Leading Trade Fair for Architecture, Materials, Systems. This international 'Who's Who' of the sector takes place from 17 to 22 January 2011 in Munich. This new subtitle marks a shift in the positioning of the event, away from an emphasis on Europe and towards a more global perspective, highlighting the event´s key status for the industry worldwide. The Advisory Board of BAU unanimously agreed on the new subtitle.

The general view was that although the new subtitle awakened high expectations, BAU was fully capable of meeting them, as there was no other comparable event worldwide in this quality category. Dieter Schäfer, Chairman of the Advisory Board, commented: "With its display of all the materials, technology and systems relevant to the building industry, the event´s unique appeal to architects and engineers plus the amazingly sophisticated presentations put on by the exhibiting firms, BAU has already built up a unique global profile."

"BAU sets the standard worldwide"
A major prompt to deciding to include 'World´s leading trade fair' in the title of BAU was the record visitor attendance at BAU in January 2009. Despite the economic crisis, 212,000 visitors from 151 countries were registered at the event, over 37,000 of them from abroad. Markus Geisenberger, Exhibition Director of BAU, drew the following conclusion: "Germany is BAU´s home, in Europe it is Number One, and around the world it sets the standard."

For this reason it was time to "take the next step and push ahead with the further internationalisation of BAU, as a world´s leading trade fair." Specifically this means that in time for BAU 2011, the marketing measures will be moved up a gear, in particular in the Middle East, the Far East and North America. The goal is to attract even more visitors from these regions to Munich and to ensure as full a turn-out as possible of the market leaders from the various sectors. According to Geisenberger, it was also clear that "The markets in Germany and Europe are our bedrock, and we will continue to show a strong presence here."

New opening times: Easier travel to the fair
On some days at BAU 2009 the surge of visitors coming to the exhibition centre was particularly strong. For both the organisers and also the Munich transport company, this was a major logistical challenge. For this reason, the exhibition management has decided, in agreement with the Advisory Board to the fair, to open 30 minutes later in the mornings, and close 30 minutes later in the evenings, so as to avoid the peak commuting times. The opening times for BAU 2011 are therefore Monday to Friday, from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. On Saturday, the last day of the fair, BAU will also open at 9.30 a.m., but close as usual at 5 p.m. The new opening times will help reduce congestion on the underground railways and the motorways, and ensure travel to and from the exhibition centre is easier and more comfortable for exhibitors and visitors.

BAU 2011 one week later
The dates for BAU have also been chosen to accommodate the needs of the participants in the fair. In 2011 BAU will take place from 17 to 22 January, which is a week later than for BAU 2009. This gives exhibitors and visitors more time after Christmas and other holidays. The scheduling for 2011 was also chosen so as to give exhibitors one more day for stand construction.



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