Global showcase  

Spoga, the garden trade fair to be staged in Cologne from 6 to 8 September 2009, will be presenting new trends and new products for outdoor living, camping and sport. The organisers are expecting 1 350 suppliers from more than 50 countries who will occupy a gross exhibition space of 168 000 m². The comparable event two years ago - the dual Spoga+Gafa fair held in 2008 - attracted 1 531 exhibitors. A considerable part of the gap between the two figures is down to representatives from East Asia. Oliver Kuhrt, executive vice president of Koelnmesse, expects that 20 to 25 per cent less show space will be taken up by Asian suppliers. However, he believes this also shows that "the high-quality segment remains stable".
This year again the internationality of the Spoga exhibitors is extremely high, with 80 per cent of companies coming from abroad. Strongly represented among them are European countries like Italy, Britain and this year's partner country, the Netherlands. The biggest product category is "furniture", which includes the Furniture & Lifestyle segment. About 700 companies are presenting their new furniture in Halls 2, 3 and 11. The theme of outdoor cooking will also be well represented at this year's event: with a total of 84 suppliers, the barbecue segment within the "leisure" section will be the biggest group of exhibitors. The leisure area will be completed by two other segments: Camping & Leisure with 63 exhibitors and Sport & Games with 27 suppliers in Hall 5.
Rounding off the spectrum of products offered at Spoga will be "ambience" in Hall 10, where about 260 long-standing Gafa exhibitors will be located. This area includes a number of segments: Floristry & Decoration, Water & Lighting, Plants & Plant Care, Furnishings & the Home, Pets & Accessories and Design & Maintenance. This indicates the strength of the garden sector at Spoga.
The intention this year is to focus attention more strongly on the subject of plants than has previously been the case. Consequently a plant centre has been set up in Hall 10 for the first time.
Koelnmesse is expanding Spoga's supplementary programme by various means including new action and communications areas. These should give visitors the opportunity to take part in technical discussions or attend informative presentations by professionals in a relaxed atmosphere. For instance, a Grillpark with live barbecuing will be set up in Hall 5.1. The Garden Furniture Park is positioned in…