The Confex had an impressive kick-off year and has established itself as a top location for a wide range of event formats: 41 events spanning 63 days with 45,000 participants.
Koelncongress GmbH brought the first year of operation of the Confex venue to a glittering close at the end of June 2025 with an anniversary celebration to mark the 150th birthday of Zurich Group Germany.
"Experience communication is an increasingly important success factor in modern corporate cultures. Corresponding events are the key to success. But special content only works in the right setting," says Bernd O. Engelien, Head of Policy & Communications at Zurich Group Germany. "Confex provided the perfect setting for a first-class show, party and event experience for 3,500 guests!"
This event was not only a special highlight in the Confex calendar, but also a very special moment for the Koelncongress team itself, as it marked the unofficial anniversary of Confex.
"We could hardly have celebrated the first anniversary of Germany's newest and most innovative trade fair, congress and event location in a better way," says Mandy Pahl-Bauerfeind, authorised signatory and member of the management board of Koelncongress, the Koelnmesse subsidiary responsible for marketing Confex. The employees of Koelncongress are available to the organisers from the planning to the implementation of each event. "There's no such thing as can't," says Pahl-Bauerfeind, describing her team's commitment and the seemingly unlimited possibilities that the highly flexible and multifunctional Confex offers.
Since the grand opening as part of the ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of Koelnmesse GmbH on 27 June 2024 with over 2,000 guests, Confex has hosted 41 events spanning 63 days with a total of around 45,000 participants. The spectrum of formats has ranged from corporate events, guest trade fairs and scientific congresses to business festivals, cultural events and political party conferences. The emergence of new congress topics and initial bookings from renowned medical congresses is encouraging, as they open up promising market opportunities and establish Confex as a driving force in the German and international event market.
Confex thus plays a key role in shaping the city's location portfolio and underscores Cologne's position as a leading location for national and international congresses and events. In addition to this, Confex provides outstanding location advantages that event planners are seeking: a central inner-city location, walking distance to an ICE train station, over 2,000 hotel rooms in the immediate vicinity, as well as the variety of cultural and other offerings of the cathedral city of Cologne.
With an extremely successful initial year of operation behind it, the Koelncongress team is beginning its second year. And Confex can already boast an excellent number of bookings until 2032.
"Thank you to the incredible Koelncongress team and our customers from Germany and abroad," says Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse. "Everyone has accepted the new Confex venue so quickly and so positively, as if it had always been part of our portfolio. Let's continue. The best is yet to come!“
Here are a few highlights and testimonials from the first year:
Here you will find more information about the Confex.