The new format is aimed specifically at school principals and teachers who are working together with companies, associations and politicians on solutions for shaping the school of tomorrow. The Education Hub combines theory and practice and offers space for exchange and innovation in the education sector.

The interactive learning spaces enable participants to directly experience and discuss new concepts and approaches. The combination of specialist exhibition and practical elements is intended to promote dialog between all those involved in the education system and provide concrete impetus for the further development of everyday school life.

Further information on the Education Hub can be found at www.education-hub.ch available.

The long-standing Olma poster series is breaking new ground: For the 83rd edition of the Swiss Agriculture and Food Fair, organizers are seeking a primarily digital campaign visual for the first time. The open design competition is open to professional designers, agencies, and design schools.

Digital First as the new strategy

«For decades, our posters have conveyed what Olma stands for. Now they’re on the move—just like Olma itself,» explains Claudia Bartolini, Head of Marketing at Olma Messen St. Gallen. By focusing on digital media, the trade show management is responding to changing media consumption habits. The visual concept they’re seeking is intended to convey movement, energy, and lightness and to serve as an invitation to the more than 300,000 visitors expected to attend.

Application process and timetable

Interested parties can apply from now until December 5, 2025 with a short letter of motivation and references. The jury will select four teams from all submissions to develop and present their designs. The winning project will be chosen in spring 2026.

New attractions 2026

Under the motto «Olma – and Action!», the 2026 fair promises to be particularly dynamic. Among the highlights is the new «Olma Action Area» in Hall 9.0—a 2,000-square-meter experience zone for games, sports, and fun. In addition, the Swiss Army and Chocosuisse will enrich the fair with special exhibitions. The canton of Schwyz is expected to be the guest of honor.

The detailed conditions of participation and the application form are available online: www.olma-messen.ch/designwettbewerb

"For eleven days, thousands of people come together on our exhibition grounds and experience their own personal Olma moments. This creates a strong sense of community that makes Olma the best eleven days of the fall," says Christine Bolt, CEO of Olma Messen St.Gallen. Olma will take place for the 81st time in 2024.

2024 with some innovations

After parts of the then almost completed St.Galler Kantonalbank hall were used for the first time last year, the foyer and the outdoor area in front of the hall will also be used at the 81st Olma. There will be various special shows in the foyer, while food stands and exhibitors, including Feldschlössen with the Schwing- und Älplerhütte, will be present on the open-air site.

The offer in the St.Galler Kantonalbank hall is also being expanded: The Olma Genussmarkt, presented by Laveba, enjoyed great popularity last year and is therefore being enlarged. Looking at the entire site, Olma has over 50 more exhibitors in a larger area than last year.

Another new feature between the exhibition grounds and the fairground is the "Olmaplaza", the new meeting place next to the Olma main entrance. This offers a mixture of gastronomy and entertainment for up to 4,000 guests throughout the day. In the evening, it transforms into a lively party zone with DJs and exclusive lounges. "With the Olmaplaza, we are taking the Olma visitor experience to a new level. The meeting place invites visitors to linger in its cozy atmosphere from early in the morning until late at night," explains Katrin Meyerhans, Head of Products at Olma Messen St.Gallen. Another new feature is the Olma Ostwind Pass, which is being introduced in partnership with the Ostwind fare association. From October 7 to 20, 2024, the pass offers free travel on the Ostwind network and free admission on all eleven days of the fair for 72 francs.

"Aha" moments at the special shows

In addition to around 600 exhibitors presenting their specialties, novelties and classics to Olma visitors across the entire site, agricultural and social topics are also part of various special shows. In the foyer of the St.Galler Kantonalbank hall, for example, Uefa will be providing a preview of the Uefa Women's Euro 2025, which will be held in Switzerland and also in St.Gallen.

At Swissint's special exhibition on peacebuilding in Hall 2.0, visitors can find out how members of the Swiss Armed Forces are involved in voluntary missions abroad in conflict-affected areas.

Commitment is also a top priority at the special exhibition of the Sempach Ornithological Institute - which is celebrating its 100th anniversary - in Hall 9.0: In the interactive exhibition "Experience Meadow Breeders", interested visitors are made aware of the endangered bird species with films, animations and games.

Visiting the guest canton of St.Gallen "uf Bsuech dihei"

This year's guest canton is the home canton of St.Gallen, which has appropriately chosen the motto "uf Bsuech dihei" and is inviting visitors to the St.Gallen living room (Markt-kom.com reported). Its oversized design forms the centerpiece of the presentation in Hall 9.1B. On the "Day of the Guest Canton" on Saturday, October 12, over 1,500 people parade through the city center of St.Gallen during the Olma parade.

"The aim of the special exhibition is to focus on people and municipalities. And it provides an insight into the regions and municipalities," said FDP councillor Beat Tinner (Department of Economic Affairs). To this end, the canton intends to set up a Art living room set up. This includes an event arena, a children's corner as well as stands with culinary specialties from St. Gallen, as a representative of a communications agency explained.

30 personalities from the canton of St. Gallen are portrayed. Visitors can also search for facts about the canton hidden in furniture. Around 60 municipalities take it in turns to present themselves in video portraits.

1,500 people are to take part in the traditional Olma parade through the city center of St. Gallen, representing the 75 municipalities, as Bernhard Keller, Managing Director of the Association of St. Gallen Municipal Presidents VSGP, explained. The parade will consist of 50 subjects.

Over 300,000 visitors expected

The 81st Swiss Fair for Agriculture and Food (Olma) will take place from October 10 to 20 at the Olma exhibition center in St. Gallen. According to the Managing Director of Olma Messen St. Gallen AG, around 330,000 visitors are expected.

Ticino was originally planned as the guest canton for Olma 2024. However, because the canton canceled its appearance, St. Gallen stepped in at short notice. The canton is supporting the appearance with CHF 1.4 million from the lottery fund. According to Cantonal Councillor Tinner, the municipalities are contributing 150,000 francs. Further financial support comes from St. Gallen companies. (SDA/swi)

The St.Galler Kantonalbank Hall offers space for up to 12,000 people. Thanks to the new hall, it is possible to hold parallel events on the Olma Messen St.Gallen site. This flexibility allows major events to be relocated from Hall 9 to the St.Galler Kantonalbank Hall, which in turn creates new capacity for congresses and association meetings in Hall 9. Possible major events in the St.Galler Kantonalbank Hall include trade fairs, corporate events such as major anniversary celebrations, cultural events and sporting events.

Expand mediation role and increase location attractiveness

The task of the St.Gallen Convention Bureau is to make the St.Gallen Cantonal Bank Hall and its possibilities known internationally. The St.Gallen Convention Bureau presents the potential of the new hall convincingly and to valuable stakeholder groups, both at trade fairs and in response to specific inquiries. "One of the most important events is IMEX Frankfurt, Europe's largest trade fair for the MICE industry," says Chiara Rossi, Head of the St.Gallen Convention Bureau. From May 14 to 16, 2024, it will present St.Gallen as a venue for events with the St.Galler Kantonalbank Halle as its flagship.

The St.Gallen Convention Bureau is thus expanding its intermediary role, bringing new event organizers to St.Gallen and linking them with Olma Messen St.Gallen. The cooperation between the St.Gallen Convention Bureau and the Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB) as well as the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) also plays a major role in establishing the new hall and dealing with international inquiries.

The guest appearance is dedicated to Switzerland's most populous canton. Statistical information is embedded in the garden area by turning tree trunks into bar charts and flower beds into pie charts. Researchers from the fields of agriculture, food and home economics also make an appearance and provide insights into their projects.

The new exhibition and event hall on the covered highway is still under construction. Work is proceeding according to plan, according to a statement issued by Olma Messen on Thursday. Parts of the hall can be used for the first time for Olma next fall. The grand opening will take place on March 2 and 3, 2024.

The new building will then bear the name of the St. Galler Kantonalbank SGKB. Similar to FC St. Gallen for its soccer arena, a name giver was also sought for the new hall. The cantonal bank's commitment as a name-giver is set for at least ten years.

How much the bank will pay for this is not communicated. "We don't communicate that," explained SGKB spokesman Adrian Kunz when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. That is the usual practice, he said.

Olma fairs have recently been struggling with financial problems due to shortfalls caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. Various steps in the recovery plan have already been taken. These include the conversion of loans from the city and canton into capital and the change from a cooperative to a stock corporation. Now the share capital of 20 million francs still needs to be raised. (SDA)

The strategy adopted in the fall of 2021 focuses on the further development of the trade show business. Another central element is the expansion of the event business. In addition, new sources of revenue are to be tapped.

The company sees opportunities above all in trade shows that are either developed in-house or purchased. A first example is Gastia, a trade fair for the hotel, gastronomy and catering industries, which has been announced for the first time for April 2023. "We will stick to our core business," said Scheitlin.

Name sponsor wanted

There has been a consolidation of trade fairs for the general public, and a regionalization of trade fairs. Immo Messe Schweiz will no longer exist in its current form. The topics of construction, renovation and energy are to be given more weight at Offa and Olma in the future.

The event business is to be further expanded. The new Hall 1 will open up new possibilities for this from March 2024, said Christine Bolt, Director of Olma Messen. The exhibition area will thus increase from today's 30,000 to 43,000 square meters. For the years 2024 and 2025, Hall 1 is already at 50 percent capacity, she said. During the upcoming Olma, part of the almost completed hall could be used for the first time.

A name sponsor is still being sought for the new hall. "We are looking for a partner who shares our values and the values of Eastern Switzerland," says Christine Bolt. Depending on the package, the sponsorship should bring Olma Messen several hundred thousand francs.

Olma AG controversial

Olma Messen had run into financial difficulties as a result of the Corona pandemic. Last March, the company had announced a loss of 3.3 million Swiss francs for the 2021 financial year. At the same time, measures were announced at the time to get the company back on track.

The plan is for the Olma Messen Cooperative to be converted into a joint-stock company in April 2023. The share capital is then to be increased by 20 million francs by spring 2024. So far, 6 million francs have been collected. Share subscription will start at the end of February.

Last November, the cantonal council and also the St. Gallen city parliament decided to waive a loan of CHF 8.4 million each. In the February session, the Cantonal Council will once again consider the matter in a second reading. The SP does not want Olma AG. The opening of the Olma trade fairs to the general public could be solved in another way than with the conversion into a public limited company, they criticize. (SDA)

The event-ex AG, organizer of the vacation fair St. Gallen, has decided in these days to renounce the realization of its three-day fair from January 20 - 22, 2023 in the planned form as a singular event and to postpone it to February 2024. The target size for pre-registrations of around 200 exhibiting travel companies could not be reached by October 2022.

Staff shortage and parallel event

"One thing that has put a spanner in the works is the fact that, since the summer months, many tour operators and travel agencies have been
We are literally overrun by customer inquiries and have to work with fewer staff than before the crisis. For this reason, a large number of the hoped-for exhibitors will not be able to take part in an additional vacation trade fair due to a lack of personnel, in addition to the existing trade fairs in Zurich and Berne," says Peter Plan, head of the organizer team. Another difficulty is the simultaneous CMT Stuttgart (Europe's largest travel trade fair), which makes participation in St. Gallen impossible, especially for country representatives, regional tourism offices and airlines.

At the new trade fair, national suppliers will meet regional representatives from the hospitality industry for three days. Olma Messen St.Gallen expects around 180 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors in the medium term - consisting of decision-makers from the hotel, catering, community catering, catering and care industries.

"There is a real need in eastern Switzerland for a trade fair for the hospitality industry. We have held numerous talks with important industry representatives and received a lot of encouragement for our plan," says Patrick Sägesser, Head of Business Development Exhibitions. The trade fair, which has yet to be named, is to become a permanent fixture in the annual trade fair calendar of Olma Messen St.Gallen from April 2023.

Four pillars for contemporary live communication

The new trade show is designed to meet all the requirements of a contemporary live marketing platform. To this end, it contains one digital and three analog focal points. The exhibition area will provide a platform for products and services. In the forum, various keynote speakers will take the microphone, provide information on trends and innovations, and discuss current challenges facing the industry with participants. A central pillar of the new hospitality trade fair will be networking. Those responsible will offer various opportunities and spaces for this. As a fourth focal point, a digital industry platform will offer the hospitality community in eastern Switzerland the opportunity to exchange news and offers beyond the trade fair.

Tender in spring

Those responsible are currently finalizing the trade show concept. The invitation to tender will start in the spring of 2022. Anyone who is considering participating as an exhibitor or partner can already apply now at Olma-fairs.ch/hospitality express its interest. The name for the new trade fair will be announced by Olma Messen St.Gallen in the summer.

The business activities of Olma Messen St. Gallen with its trade fairs, congresses and events result in a wide range of economic effects for the city of St.Gallen and eastern Switzerland. This is shown by a new study of the Institute for Systemic Management and Public Governance of the University of St.Gallen (IMP-HSG). Those responsible have investigated what added value Olma Messen generates for the city of St.Gallen and eastern Switzerland, who benefits from it and what other effects the cooperative has on the region.

"The trade fair and exhibition activities of Olma Messen not only make a significant contribution to value creation and employment in the St. Gallen region, but are also a showcase and platform for the regional economy and contribute to the image of the city and region," says Dr. Roland Scherer, Director at IMP-HSG, summarizing the study results.

Significant economic effects

The study showed that the trade fairs and events of Olma Messen generated total sales of around CHF 294 million with their exhibitors, organizers and visitors in the 2019 financial year. Of this, around CHF 177 million was generated in eastern Switzerland (AI, AR, SG, TG). Direct and indirect sales for the city and agglomeration of St.Gallen amounted to around 141 million Swiss francs.

1,350 full-time positions in Eastern Switzerland

In 2019, the activities of Olma Messen had direct, indirect and induced employment effects of around 1,350 full-time positions in eastern Switzerland - around four-fifths were in the city and conurbation of St.Gallen. The indirect employment effects were particularly in the hospitality industry, trade and business-related services. For accommodation businesses in the city and agglomeration of St.Gallen, the trade fairs and events of Olma Messen represent a very relevant NaFrankenragesegment.

In terms of events, it is primarily the national and international trade congresses that generate a large number of overnight stays. For the businesses in the wider tourism region of St.Gallen-Lake Constance, individual trade fairs and events such as the OLMA or larger trade congresses develop a noticeable demand. The activities of Olma Messen St.Gallen are associated with an estimated income, profit and VAT revenue of 18 to 23 million Swiss francs.

With and for the region

The study identifies three possible levers for strengthening the regional impact: increasing the number of regional suppliers at public trade fairs, establishing and expanding trade fairs, and increasing the number of congresses with national or international appeal. In order for this to succeed, it is necessary on the one hand to further develop the image, which up to now has mainly been characterized by rural tradition, and on the other hand to ensure close interaction in strategy and marketing with the location promotion of the city of St.Gallen and St.Gallen-Lake Constance Tourism.

Olma Messen St.Gallen has further developed its strategy in recent months and, among other things, sharpened it on the basis of the impact study conducted by the University of St.Gallen. In the area of trade fairs, the strategic focus is on the development and acquisition of trade fairs and the sustainable development of Olma. "The goal is for Olma to be as successful in ten years as it is today; to achieve this, we must invest and develop with our clientele and the market," says Christine Bolt, Director of Olma Messen St.Gallen.

In the area of congress events, the cooperative intends to act increasingly as a co-organizer and organize congresses and events together with regional institutions and companies. In addition, the strategy envisages a significant expansion of the consulting activities of the in-house event agency.

"Due to our sponsorship and our legal form as a cooperative, we are committed to the region and our owners - and aware of our responsibility. And we are convinced that if we stand together as a region, we will succeed in exploiting the opportunities offered by Hall 1 and thus sustainably strengthen the region, on various levels," says Bolt. On the one hand, Hall 1 offers a wide range of opportunities for new trade fairs and major cultural and sporting events, and on the other, it gives the entire site more room to maneuver during peak periods.

The analyses of the study "The regional importance of the OLMA fairs St.Gallen". led by Dr. Roland Scherer from the Institute for Systemic Management and Public Governance, refer to the year 2019. Due to the Corona pandemic, the activities of the Olma Messen came to an almost complete standstill in 2020. For the study, the researchers carried out a regional economic analysis of the purchasing power and value-added effects of the Olma trade fairs and conducted an online survey of the hotel industry and private landlords in the St. Gallen-Lake Constance destination as well as a media analysis.

The study is available as Download available.

Hydrogen mobility can be experienced at their joint stand at Olma. For example, the refueling of the Hyundai NEXO Fuel Cell electric car, which is already available in series production, can be tried out for oneself on a simulator. A model is used to explain the production of hydrogen.

In addition, an e-bike from the Linde company will be on display, which is powered by hydrogen. If visitors would like to delve deeper into the subject, they can take a look at the various infographics. Promoters will be present throughout the exhibition to answer questions.

There will also be a competition on site where visitors:inside can win a weekend with the new fuel cell car Toyota Mirai.