Milan Welcomes the World

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 4/11/2005

Milan—The Italian government and Milanese tradeshow organizers couldn't be prouder of their new 3.7 million square foot convention center — and they let the world know it.

The Milan, Italy-based show and facility management firm Fiera Milano on March 31 opened three of the eight pavilions of its $750 million ($963 million) Fiera Milano convention center. The grand opening celebration drew many dignitaries, including Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi; Roberto Formigoni, president of the Lombardy Region; Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, the archbishop of Milan; regional mayors; and more than a thousand Italian and international guests from as far away as India and China.

During the elaborate presentation, which concluded with a parade by the Band of the Carabinieri (the Italian Natl. Police), speakers boasted of the facility's speedy, 30-month construction schedule, called it the beginning of a planned redesign of Greater Milan and cited the opening as the driving force to transform the city into the tradeshow capital of Europe.

Representatives from more than 40 countries attended the two-hour ceremony, which was televised live on three national networks.

"This is an opportunity for Milan to become what Paris became and what London and Berlin became," said Michele Perini, chairman of Fiera Milano, at an earlier gathering.

Milan is ranked fifth in population among major metropolitan areas in Europe. As Italy's business capital, it currently attracts 88 tradeshows per year, second in Europe to Paris' 100 per year.

Milan Mayor Gabriele Albertini said the new venue will "inevitably move the metropolis" to the Rho-Pero district outside of Milan, where the facility is located. Additionally, Fiera Milano is redeveloping another section of Milan through an effort called the City Complex.

During his speech, Luigi Roth, president of the Fiera Milano Foundation (which financed the center and is the controlling shareholder in Fiera Milano), read a letter from Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, calling the center "a new big window on the world" and "a sign of a revamp of the Italian economy."

Berlusconi called the facility "an ambitious opportunity" and cited the dozens of construction projects underway in Milan. He added: "I am moved and proud of this extraordinary structure."

Several dignitaries also pointed to the recently completed restoration of the city's world-renowned opera house, La Scala, as a sign of the Italian government's grand plans for Milan's future.

The new Fiera Milano convention center, also called "Nuovo Polo" ("new complex" in Italian), is five miles from the old 3.7 million sq. ft. Fiera Milano center in downtown Milan — now called Fiera Milano City.

When all eight pavilions of the new center officially open next January, the City complex will be restructured into a 1.2 million sq. ft. operation, and the two centers will be connected via a direct subway link, offering a total of 5.6 million sq. ft., (including 646,000 sq. ft. of outdoor space at the new complex).

A separate highway exit to the new facility's location, a reclaimed refinery site, is under construction, and the facility will be connected to Italy's train system by 2007.

According to Tradeshow Week's Major Exhibit Hall Directory, when combined, the two Fiera Milano facilities will offer more exhibit space than the world's largest convention centers: Messegelande Hannover in Hannover, Germany, at 5.4 million sq. ft.; and Messe Muenchen in Munich, Germany, at 4.7 million sq. ft.

Said Piergiacomo Ferrari, CEO of Fiera Milano, "If you want to be optimistic, just add a few more meters, and we will be No. 1."

Fiera Milano (the only publicly listed Italian trade fair group) and the Chamber of Commerce of Milan (the firm's second-largest shareholder and Europe's largest chamber) flew in nearly 100 international show organizers, facility managers, government representatives, economic development officials, ambassadors, ministers of trade and journalists from more than 20 countries for Milan — The Engine of Economy, a two-day series of events showcasing the new facility and the firm's services.

Representatives from more than 40 Fiera Milano offices around the globe, including those in New York and Los Angeles, were also in attendance.

Following the opening ceremony, the international guests also visited one of the facility's first tradeshows, the 430,000 sq. ft. architecture exhibition Progetto Citta.

George Little Management Executive Vice President Alan Steel, the sole representative from the U.S. show management sector, said the trip was worthwhile because of the international networking possibilities that would help to establish and maintain important business relationships.

Steel said the visit helped him "know who to go to when I need to." He added that what he knows is less important than who he knows. "It's good customer relations."

Steel also attended several meetings in Rome, partly to promote GLM shows to Italian exhibitors, the company's second largest international exhibitor base.

Although GLM doesn't manage shows outside the United States and Canada, its partner dmg world media does and, Steel said, GLM "might have a need for it (the Fiera Milano venue) sometime in the future."

The 85-year-old Fiera Milano firm also operates Milan's Fiera Milano Congressi Center and covers nearly every aspect of the exhibition business through its 15 companies that do everything from show management and exhibit design to catering and technical publishing. Fiera Milano organizes nearly half of its convention centers' shows.

The division of Fiera Milano Exhibitions and Reed Exhibitions jointly control the largest show-organizing firm in Italy, Fiera Milano Intl.

During the two-day events, Fiera Milano officials held informal discussions with representatives from several countries they hope to attract business from, most importantly China, Brazil, Russia and India.

Fiera Milano is organizing efforts to train executives in management positions, said Marco Sogaro, director general of Fiera Milano. He said the firm is in contract negotiations with Brazilian officials, which may result in a new convention center near the new Sao Paulo airport.

The company has also created a master's degree training program through the Milan business school, Bocconi University.

Along with supporting Fiera Milano's business in Sao Paulo, Thomas Zanotto, director of the Intl. Affairs and Foreign Trade Department for the Federation of the Industries of the State of Sao Paulo, said he planned the visit "to be up to date with the rest of the world."

When complete, the new complex will be comprised of eight pavilions with a total of 20 halls, 74 meeting rooms, 14 restaurants, 50 bars and cafes, several conveyor belts between the pavilions, and a heliport.

Designed by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas, the center boasts a 506,000 sq. ft. glass sail structure made up of 150,000 individually designed pieces that cover the central artery connecting the pavilions.