Hamburg is an exciting and attractive metropolis: vastness, wind, water, contrasting architecture and a relaxed maritime lifestyle are the advantages known from the Hanseatic city. Liveable districts and many sights distinguish the city: With HafenCity Hamburg, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Speicherstadt, the world-famous St. Pauli Landungsbrücken, the fish market or the Elbe beaches in Ovelgönne and Blankenese, Hamburg has an exceptionally exciting urban coastline. But Hamburg can also score points in the disciplines that are of strong relevance to meeting planners in particular, making the Hanseatic city an ideal meeting destination. A mix of good accessibility, short distances for organizers and participants, an excellent variety of hotels and locations as well as exciting incentives make Hamburg an excellent choice.
Centrally located in Europe, Hamburg is easy to reach by plane, train or car. Within the city, the journey continues seamlessly: in the Hanseatic city, you can reach your destination without any problems, even without a car: the public transport network is densely developed on roads and railways and even extends to the water. Once in the city center, Hamburg also offers an ideal infrastructure for the MICE industry. The location of the trade fair and congress grounds is almost unique: Right in the heart of the city. From the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg, the exhibition grounds and Hamburg’s city center can be reached on foot in just a few minutes. The Dammtor train station is just a few steps away, and long-distance travelers can take the ICE train right to the door. Even the airport is only a good ten kilometers away and can be reached comfortably in about 20 minutes by suburban train. The whole thing is rounded off by a large selection of hotels: More than 8,000 hotel rooms in all categories are located in the immediate vicinity, providing ideal accommodation for trade fair and congress visitors.
Another factor that sets Hamburg apart is deeply rooted in the city’s DNA – cooperation. Ever since the Hanseatic era, the city has relied on collaboration. This has not changed today and is an important asset for event organizers and MICE planners. Hamburg has partnership and far-reaching networks on its credit side: the cohesion of the service providers at the location is strong and they work together to ensure that a congress is a success for all sides.
Last but not least, Hamburg’s service providers have prepared themselves for the current circumstances in order to make stays in Hamburg as safe as possible. The Hamburg Convention Bureau has also made the most of the time: not only has a new Corona information page been set up for customers and planners, but a new video has also been produced that not only whets people’s appetites for the Hanseatic city, but also shows that safe meetings in Hamburg are possible.
Current decisions pro Hamburg, show us that MICE decision makers recognize these advantages of the city and have Hamburg in mind: Winning the bid to host the AC Forum is a major success. The Association & Conference Forum – AC Forum for short – brings together more than 120 representatives, decision-makers and congress organizers from over 35 international associations in Hamburg. The congress planners represent the interests of their scientific associations and sound out meeting and congress locations for the coming years. Hamburg can present itself to an exciting audience: In total, the members organize more than 75 recurring congresses with around 260 event days and over 320,000 participants.
Another congress win that reinforces our view that Hamburg is an ideal choice for organizers: The annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes – EASD for short – will be held in Hamburg in 2023. EASD is one of the largest networks for diabetologists worldwide. With an average of 15,000 delegates from 130 countries, it is one of the largest meetings in Europe. For Hamburg, it will be the largest medical meeting in the city to date. The event will be held at the Hamburg exhibition center. And here, too, Hamburg scores with a strong joint performance of the entire location: Together with the agency responsible, Interplan, Hamburg succeeded in convincing through unity and with a good concept during the application phase.
You want to know more? Then take a look at the Hamburg Convention Bureau.