Messe Frankfurt Confirms The End of Musikmesse Trade Show

Top management at Messe Frankfurt is hoping that the pandemic will end soon, allowing the company to return to its normal business activities and generate revenue. While the first trade show to return to one of the world's best fairgrounds will be Prolight+Sound, scheduled to return 26 to 29 April 2022, Musikmesse will now definitely be left behind. Messe Frankfurt confirms the intention to end the Musikmesse trade show and the associated local festival.

Prolight+Sound is scheduled to return in 2022, allowing the event and live entertainment industry to celebrate its comeback, now leaving Musikmesse definitely behind - the show focused on musical instruments now takes place the weekend after Prolight+Sound ends. Frankfurt Messe is also using its most modern facilities to accommodate the pro audio, lightning and stage technology showcases, with entrance now through the new Portalhaus.

UPDATE: Prolight+Sound 2020 Cancelled. For the last 25 years, Prolight+Sound has been synonymous with trends and innovations in the entertainment-technology industry. Given the increasing spread of Covid-19 in Europe, Messe Frankfurt confirmed the decision to cancel Prolight+Sound 2020. The trade fair was originally planned for 31 March to 3 April. The next Prolight+Sound will be held from 13 to 16 April 2021.

I learned to attend trade shows in the era when it was crucial to bring back a large bag weighing 80 pounds filled with catalogs, price lists, and product manuals. In fact, I quickly learned to look at the global trade show calendar and sometimes attended regional trade shows just to find new products ahead of the major international events and establish an early relationship with a new company. Those local shows were mainly targeted at meeting final clients and end users for the region, but they were an effective way to meet key people with more time available, and learn how they defined their sales pitch in their own - sometimes more mature - markets.

A decisive 2019 edition of Prolight+Sound and Musikmesse is fast approaching, signaling the return to a consolidated model and the adoption of a new layout, which includes new facilities in the Messe Frankfurt complex. For the first time since 2015, the two trade fairs are being held concurrently on all four days and, for visitors from the professional audio sector in particular, will offer a variety of new highlights and product innovations from the industry’s key players.

Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound 2019: Stronger together! This is the slogan used by Frankfurt Messe to promote the 2019 edition of those two prestigious shows, which could risk being the last ones if the new adopted model doesn't work. After many years of forced separation, the Frankfurt show complex will finally open the brand new Halls 12 (two levels), enabling Prolight+Sound to grow into a modern space, while Musikmesse returns to the much appreciated Halls 3. More important, both shows will take place again concurrently!

To outline the drive towards technological convergence in the pro AV and IT sectors, Prolight+Sound Guangzhou 2018 will focus on integrated solutions in the areas of audio, lighting, communication, and conferencing. The Guangzhou show is expected to accommodate 1,300 exhibitors and more than 75,000 visitors in 13 themed halls (130,000 sqm), from 10 – 13 May in Area A at China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou.

The Saturday-evening concert by Dionne Warwick and the New Philharmonic Orchestra Frankfurt marked the end of a week of music and events. 1,803 companies from 56 countries launched their latest products during the five days of Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound 2018. For 2019, Frankfurt Messe promises to return to a unified format, with Musikmesse and Prolight+Sound overlaping fully on all days and move closer together spatially.

Musikmesse (11 to 14 April 2018) and Prolight+Sound (10 to 13 April 2018) will once again bring together companies with retailers, professionals from the musical-instrument, event and media-technologies sectors, as well as musicians from all over the world. In 2017, the two events attracted a total of around 100,000 visitors from 144 countries to Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre. In 2018, the Frankfurt Messe will reinforce the professional focus and synergies between the two shows.

Prolight+Sound Frankfurt returns this year with a reinforced proposition on the model adopted in the previous year, while introducing several key changes on the outdoor demonstrations and coordination with the concurrent Musikmesse 2017, now overlapping during the last three days. Prolight+Sound 2017 will introduce visitors to the Silent-Stage concept in Hall 4.1.