French fairs fuse

With the fusion of two French fair organisations, the largest fair organisation in world has been brought to life, which improved their international position massively.Over the past few years a lot has changed within the fair environment, the international competition has increased and many fairs are expanding outside of Europe. By fusing, the French fair organiser wanted to opt for the best economic position. At the end of January Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP), and estate giant Unibail-Rodamco decided to join forces and launch Viparis. Due to this collaboration, Viparis offers the largest fair space in the world of 575.000m2. During the fusion meeting, further expansion was discussed. Exhibition venue Paris-Nord Villepinte will have access to another 36.000m2 within the next two years, creating a total of 240.000m2, which Viparis is looking to increase up to 350.000m2.

The organisation of the fairs will be combined under the name Comexposium, which makes it the biggest fair operators of France. Comexposium looks after 40% of the French fairs, a total of 180 fairs. They work with 35.000 exhibitors and annually attract 4.1 million visitors. Of both new organisations, CCIP and the Unibail-Radamco Group own 50% each. For the future they are looking to evaluate the success of their portfolio, and research possibilities in the Middle East, Asia and South America.

Image: Paris-Nord Villepinte