New hall plan

This year the Spoga+Gafa will experience a change in its hall plan. Due to the fact that Spoga Horse Autumn, which is being held at the same time, is moving to Hall 11, the garden living segment, i.e. garden furniture, garden equipment and decoration, will now be in Hall 4. The trade fair now spans the whole of the boulevard, making it a "more visitor and buyer-friendly" layout with better pathways, according to Katharina C. Hamma, chief operating officer of Koelnmesse, at the preliminary press conference to September's event.
The Landgard Plant Ordering Days will be held in Hall 5.1 again. This cooperation with the plant marketing organisation is now in its third year. "Plants have definitely returned to Cologne," says Hamma, who also announced new exhibitors in this sector. Very nearby, in Passage 4/5, a "Plants Alley" is being built for the first time this year. There will also be a boulevard of ideas again.
There is a new concept for the grill park. For trade visitors there will be barbecue demonstrations held by exhibitors in the open area between Halls 6 and 7, close to the garden barbecue product segment. For the Tag des Gartens, the end user event which is being held at the same time, the barbecuing theme will be held mostly in the Rheinpark.

In total the garden trade fair will cover an exhibition area of 225,000 m² in Halls 1 to 7, 9 and 10. Around 2,000 exhibitors from around 60 countries are expected. By the start of May, 97 per cent of the planned area was occupied. "With an expected 75 per cent share of foreign exhibitors, we have once again reached a very high level. The high interest from abroad shows us that Spoga+Gafa is also the leading international platform for the presentation of the garden industry's new products," says Katharina C. Hamma.
There is also a new addition to the garden unique product segment for premium garden furniture. This area will be open for high-quality brands from other product segments.
The press conference was also the first public appearance of Stefan Lohrberg as new project manager of the Spoga+Gafa. He took on the position on 1 April.The Spoga+Gafa will take place from 4 to 6 September 2016.