Big Congresses: International Operators in Milan for the kick off of the New Milan CC

Monday, 18.05.2009
Milan. Milanese mission for 40 major international congress organisers and 5 foreign specialist press journalists, invited by Fiera Milano Congressi to get to know “Milan the congress city” and the jewel in its crown, the MIC Plus: the great convention hub that will be created over the next two years thanks to extension of the existing […]

Milan. Milanese mission for 40 major international congress organisers and 5 foreign specialist press journalists, invited by Fiera Milano Congressi to get to know “Milan the congress city” and the jewel in its crown, the MIC Plus: the great convention hub that will be created over the next two years thanks to extension of the existing Milan Convention Centre.

The objective of this visit, which became a real sector convention thanks to participation also by numerous Italian operators, was to present the advantages offered by Milan and by the MIC Plus to those deciding to choose it for international congresses, selecting it out of the dozens of European cities that contend this fiercely competitive market.

The mission started with a meeting at Palazzo Marino and an exceptional guest of honour, Mayor Letizia Moratti, who wanted her presence to underline the commitment of the city alongside the MIC project for definitive consecration of Milan as a congress venue.

The meeting will continues with a visit to the David by Donatello on display at fieramilanocity for the duration of the fair, and tomorrow with an on-site visit to the MIC. Luigi Roth, president of Fondazione Fiera Milano, was also present. The Foundation will provide 50 m euros for funding transformation of the congress centre. This is a big-impact aesthetic renovation, with structural plans by architect Mario Bellini and interior optimisation by architect Pierluigi Nicolin.

The MIC Plus is also a decisive step in redevelopment of the city-based Fiera Milano exhibition area, through enhancement of a function fully compatible with the trade fair centre’s mission and an increasingly more significant part of its business.

The project’s characteristics were explained by the CEO of Fiera Milano Congressi, Maurizio Lupi: a complex that offers a seating capacity of 18,000, an auditorium for 1,500, an assembly hall offering a total of 4,500 places and 73 modular rooms with capacity ranging from 20 to 2,000, all supported by 54,000 square metres of exhibition space. “Absolutely excellent services. Plenty of top-quality hotels. A millenary history and tourist attractions. Great culture, universities and cutting-edge scientific research, above all in the medical field. Milan has all the right numbers for to become the ideal destination for large international congresses.”

“The MIC Plus strongly backs this vocation. This is the birth of the new European market leader, not just Italian. We will be able to host over 200 appointments a year and even several meetings at the same time. And we will have, well in advance of the event itself, a cutting-edge location at the disposal of Expo 2015. Years go we put in place a strategic business choice, concentrating material and human resources in development of international congresses, medical-scientific in particular, and we are regularly taking part with good results in calls for tenders as host venue. The MIC Plus will allow us to operate even more effectively in this high-level remunerative bracket of the market”.

The presentation at Palazzo Marino also saw participation by Patrizia Buongiorno, president of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers, Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, and Edgard Hirt, president of the AIPC (International Association of Congress Centres), who illustrated characteristics of demand and trends of the European congress market.

The meeting at Palazzo Marino was sealed by recognition from the city and Fiera Milano Congressi for 23 members of the scientific and medical community who have offered their knowledge and expertise for promotion of Milan the congress city. A plaque thanking them for their valuable contribution was presented by the Milan Municipal Councillor for Health Gianpaolo Landi from Chiavenna. www.fieramilano.it