FIBO 2012 embassador: Spains fitness celebrity Jessica Exposito

"Fascinating FIBO", "FIBO fitter than ever", "Crowd puller FIBO", the specialist press titled after FIBO 2011. Not surprisingly, since the Leading International Trade Show for Fitness, Wellness and Health once again posted new records. 58,100 visitors, 581 exhibitors, a surface of 75,000 m² in all twelve Essen exhibition halls! FIBO 2012 is therefore set on a clear course: The world's largest fitness trade show, held from 19 to 22 April, will burst at its seams. "Our onsite rebooking figures at the trade show had already broken all records", says FIBO Event Director Olaf Tomscheit proudly. "In the meantime, FIBO 2012 is just about fully booked out!"

And still requests for exhibition space keep coming in. As a result, FIBO 2012 in Essen will be the biggest FIBO of all times before moving to Cologne in 2013 in order to measure up to its continuous growth and increasingly international character. In Essen, 60,000 visitors from more than 100 countries are expected this year.

Trade show continues to develop: Plenty of innovations at the biggest FIBO of all times in Essen
Visitors can already look forward to the trade show: With 600 exhibitors from 35 countries expected, FIBO will not only grow bigger but also even more varied and international. Increasingly, companies from outside Europe take advantage of the industry's biggest trade fair for innovations as a stage for the world premiere of their products. "There will be many interesting innovative products", Olaf Tomscheit says, adding with a wink: "Of course, we must not give away any secrets at this stage." Just this much: The presentation ceremony for the 13th FIBO INNOVATION AWARD is bound to be a thriller; the application procedure is under way, further information is available online on the FIBO homepage. The prize is awarded every year by an independent jury of experts chaired by the TÜV Rheinland Group and cooperating with the FIT FOR FUN magazine. It consists of journalists, sports scientists and sports medicine specialists.

Even stronger international participation
About 30 percent of trade visitors come from abroad, 13 percent of these from non-European countries. FIBO's increasing significance abroad is evident from the development of exhibitor numbers: 45 percent of these are international customers, the three top regions/nations being USA/Canada, Italy and the UK. Says Olaf Tomscheit: "We will pay particular attention to further expanding international participation since, also thanks to FIBO, the entire industry is growing together especially on the European continent." The ambassador concept introduced at FIBO 2010 will be continued in 2012: Prominent figures from the international fitness scene act as FIBO ambassadors in all parts of Europe, such as the Iberian fitness star Jessica Exposito in Spain or Doug Miller, an industry veteran, in the Scandinavian countries. FIBO also strengthens its cooperation with international associations.

After last year's successful premiere, FIBO invites about 250 international visitors to the second International Reception on the roof terrace of the Hotel Atlantic on Thursday night. The popular shuttle service from Düsseldorf International Airport is also continued. In order 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 already register, buy tickets and print them out at home. Doing so not only saves money, but also avoids queuing at the onsite cash offices: Visitors can proceed directly to the halls.

FIBOmed: More room for healthy concepts
Intelligent health promotion concepts are presented under the roof of FIBOmed, a segment which was launched as early as 2008 specifically for this purpose. The trend of fitness and health themes to grow together continues unbroken - with the result that meanwhile visitors from a large range of medical and health professions visit the trade show. Since 2005 their number has doubled. A trend which had a significant effect on business in 2011 and is also expected to continue at the next FIBO. Says Tomscheit: "We are working intensively on expanding our FIBOmed concept." As a result, the 2012 event will, for the first time, feature a series of specialist lectures taking a look at themes from those areas where the fitness and the health industry overlap. Planning for a FIBOmed congress in 2013 is already under way, to be held in cooperation with MedCongress, a subsidiary of FIBO organiser Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH.

Since FIBOmed is a "trade show within the trade show", 2012 visitors will notice the FIBOmed logo more often due to the improved guiding system: Stands that are of interest to doctors, physiotherapists and other representatives of the health industry are to be marked accordingly in the halls. This professional group can then find its way around the trade show more quickly and specifically seek out the respective contacts. Of course, the FIBOmed exhibitors are also marked in the folding hall plan and listed on www.fibo-med.de. The core, the FIBOmed joint stand, forms a section of its own which includes a lecture forum in Hall 7. Here speakers from the industry present and discuss its latest trends and developments. An entirely new special area is planned as part of FIBOmed, also in Hall 7: It will feature everything to do with the topic of functional training. The health market, in particular, is gearing up for this new trend.

FIBO 360°: What's of interest to the industry
FIBO is more than just a trade show - this is also apparent from the new "FIBO 360°" online project. As early as September 2011, the FIBO team was busily posting information about this new undertaking on the FIBO facebook account. A new Internet site, supplementing www.fibo.de, was to be created; with information from exhibitors and the fitness industry all year round, independently of the trade show date. The only thing that was missing was a name. Together with the FIBO facebook fans the team settled for "FIBO 360°". In early March, the extensive, interactive website www.fibo360.de will go online. In addition to industry news and the latest products by FIBO exhibitors, it will also feature films. FIBO's own search engine and database, the FIBO FINDER, will be integrated into the website and will also be linked to the FIBO facebook account. Users can participate in current industry surveys; exhibitors can process their own data such as product news and photos with a special tool. Regular tests of fitness devices by an expert from the industry are also planned. And, of course, there will be a separate section on the steadily growing FIBOmed - all of it both in German and in English. Olaf Tomscheit is already looking forward to the project: "We want to keep in contact with FIBO visitors and exhibitors all year round. Over more than 25 years, FIBO has become much more than just a trade show - it is not without reason that people talk about a FIBO Community - and we want to maintain closer and more long-term contact with this community to supplement the four trade show days."

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Press Department:

Dr. Mike Seidensticker
Press Spokesman
+49 211 90191-128
Mike.Seidensticker@reedexpo.de

Nadine Lente
Press Officer
+49 211 90191-191
+49 211 90191-138
Nadine.Lente@reedexpo.de