Back with a record number of exhibitors

After a break of more than four years, sometimes fractious discussions about the unusual date and several cancellations, the trade fair Bau in Munich took place again in mid-April. And how! The world's leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems was attended by 2 260 exhibitors from 49 countries, ten more than in January 2019.

In terms of visitor numbers, however, there was a bump that was probably largely not the fault of the fair organisers and was, in any case, unforeseeable. For up to the halfway point of the fair (17 and 22 April), visitor numbers approached the level of 2019, according to the organisers. But then warning strikes at German airports and in local and long-distance public transport put the brakes on the positive trend. In the end, around 190 000 visitors were counted. Four years ago it was about 250 000.

Nevertheless, on the main days of the fair in the middle of the week there was a good deal of crowding in the aisles and on the stands. Although April is already the building season - unlike the January date when Bau is normally held and where it will move again for the next edition in 2025 - there were also numerous tradesmen and craftswomen in plain sight at the fair. The trade fair company also points to the 365-day industry platform Bau Insights, which was launched just two months before the start of the fair and was used by up to 40,000 people a day.

Exhibitors frequently emphasised that there were many international contacts at the fair. Katharina Metzger, president of the Bundesverband Deutscher Baustoff Fachhandel (Federal Association of the German Builders’ Merchants), also considers the return after more than four years a success: "We are more than satisfied with Bau 2023, because such an important industry cannot afford to be without a trade fair platform for six years."