Berlin is a leading international convention location and ranks first in visitor numbers (ICCA, 2008) for international conventions.
Berlin is home to Europe's largest convention center, the ICC, which celebrated its 30th year in 2009. The city also offers an exceptional variety of other convention venues. Berlin's hotel landscape is the most modern in Europe, with a total capacity of 109,700 beds.
320 providers operate convention and meeting facilities with a total space of approximately 460,400 m².
In 2010, 113,100 events were held in Berlin (up 4% from 108,500 in 2009), which were attended by 9.1 million participants (up 10% from 8.26 million in 2009).
Convention participants spent an estimated 1.65 billion euros in the city (2009: 1.5 billion euros).
(Sources: Berlin Partner GmbH, 2011; Berlin Convention Office c/o Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH, 2010)
Selected Convention Venues
International Congress Center - ICC Berlin
- Operator: Messe Berlin GmbH;
- Multifunctional communications center;
- 511 conventions and shows with a total of approximately 220,000 participants (2009);
- Approximately 69% (138,000) of those are visitors from outside of Berlin;
- 80 halls and rooms with capacities ranging from 20 to 9,070 seats (total capacity: 14,500);
- 5,500 m² of exhibition space in the ICC, which is directly connected to the 160,000 m² of the Berlin Messe Exhibition Grounds;
- One of the largest theater stages in the world (910 m²);
- Spacious foyer levels;
- State-of-the art lighting, projection, sound and stage facilities;
- Building-wide ATM network;
- WirelessLAN at hotspots in the ICC and on the Messe Berlin Exhibition Grounds.
Internationales Congress Centrum - ICC Berlin
Street Address
Neue Kantstrasse at the corner of Messedamm
D-14057 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 303830-00
Fax: +49 30 303830-30
E-mail: sales@icc-berlin.de
Postal Address
Messedamm 22
D-14055 Berlin
Seven convention centers and arenas (2 percent of all operators) offer 57,900 m² of event space (13 percent of the total available convention space)
They include:
- o2 World
(17,000 patrons) - ICC Berlin (maximum capacity 9,070 with theater seating)
- Velodrom (8,400 patrons)
- Max Schmeling Hall (7,586 patrons)
- Arena Berlin Kulturarena (5,000 patrons)
- CEC Congress & Event Center Tempelhof Airport GmbH (3,000 patrons)
- Berliner Congress Center, BCC (2,500 patrons)
161 Hotels (53% of the total) offer 102,000 m² of event space (23% of the total), including:
- Estrel Hotel & Convention Center (maximum capacity 5,000 seats),
- Maritim Hotel Berlin (3,100 patrons),
- Hotel Inter Continental Berlin (1,500 patrons),
- Maritim Pro Arte Hotel (1,000 patrons),
- Grand Hyatt Berlin (850 patrons),
- The Ritz Carlton Berlin (850 patrons),
- Berlin Marriott Hotel (60 patrons),
- Dorint Sofitel Schweizerhof Berlin (650 patrons),
- Crowne Plaza Berlin City Centre (600 patrons),
- Steigenberger Berlin (600 patrons),
- Hotel Palace Berlin (580).
135 additional event venues (45% of the total) offer 278,500 m² of event space (65% of the total):
- Tempodrom (3,678 patrons),
- Palais am Funkturm (2,400 patrons),
- Friedrichstadtpalast (1,890 patrons),
- Theater des Westens (1,614 patrons),
- Fernsehstudio Berlin / Eventisland (Spandau) (1,600 patrons),
- Messeforum im Ullsteinhaus (1,200 patrons).
(Sources: Messe Berlin GmbH, 2009; Information Brief Conventions in Berlin (Kongressstadt Berlin) published by the Senate Administration for Economics, Technology and Research (Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Technologie, und Forschung), 2008, Berlin Convention Office c/o Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH 2009)