One thing became clear – Basel is still the place to be for the life sciences industry. From March 20 – 23, 2023, BIO Europe Spring was staged here, welcoming a total of 3,300 decision-makers. With its commitment to environmental, economic and social issues, this congress was not only a highlight in the visitors' annual calendar but also constituted a prime example of sustainability. In October 2023, our city on the Rhine then hosted Biotech X Europe, the most important conference for diagnostics, precision medicine, and digital transformation in healthcare, and the annual conference of the ESMRMB (European Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology). The Festival of Biologics also brought together some 3,000 experts from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and science sectors, as well as regulatory authorities, start-ups, manufacturers and providers of biologics solutions.

Other sectors similarly chose Basel as the venue for their congresses. Special mention should be made of the CISTM (Conference of The International Society of Travel Medicine), the DIA (Drug Information Association) Europe meeting, the SAP International Conference for Utilities, and the 100th Anniversary of the SSO (Swiss Dental Association).

In the area of guest exhibitions, apart from proven crowd-pullers like Design Miami, Blickfang, Fantasy Basel, Liste Art Fair Basel, and the Graduate Fair, the team at Messe und Congress Center Basel were delighted to welcome a comeback of a very special kind. Chemspec, the leading trade fair for the fine and specialty chemicals industry, came back to Basel for the first time in four years. And what a return it was – with a record exhibition area and a marked increase in visitor numbers. Finally, eminent firm Endress+Hauser set new standards in corporate presentation with its company exhibition and, on the occasion of its 70th anniversary, demonstrated what corporate events of the future could look like.

And there were other good reasons for making the journey to Messeplatz. The “Lost in the Jungle” adventure paradise, the Banksy “Painting Walls” exhibition and the “Dinosaur Invasion” were just three of these. It is in this spirit that MCH Group has recently launched a concept to revitalize the area around Messeplatz. Under the name "Messe-Quartier Basel", or MQ for short, an urban experience hub is being created for young and old over the years to come.

Apart from completely new formats such as ART3F, the fairs also included classics like Auto Zürich, EMPACK and Bauen & Modernisieren. A total of 2,366 exhibitors and 177,630 interested visitors were welcomed at these events.

The venue on the city's outskirts proved to be a magnet for visitors on other occasions too, with attractive MCH exhibitions like Giardina and public events including the “Lost in the Jungle” adventure park and an opportunity to try out the trendy sport of padel. Numerous guests from near and far also made their way to Wallisellenstrasse for Zurich Pop & Con which spanned 30,000 square meters in seven halls. This is no surprise given that Switzerland's largest autumn festival of pop culture and gaming featured exciting talks, thrilling shows, creative workshops, and informative lectures on five stages. Culture enthusiasts were additionally treated to the premiere of the Art3F contemporary art fair in 2023.

Alongside this, Messe Zurich proved its worth as a venue for business events once more. At global level, these included Architect@Work, which attracted some 2,300 architects and interior designers from all over the world. The Koch Days were doubtless one of the highlights in the program of national events. Aimed at the construction and woodworking industry, this fair was held for the first time in June 2023. Messe Zurich also proved to be an extremely popular venue for Annual General Meetings and even hosted a polling station for the Turkish presidential elections.