Reifen show move not linked to Essen site plans

As reported yesterday, The Reifen show looks set to find a new home in Cologne from 2018 onwards. The reason local publication the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung gave for this change of location after half a century in the German city of Essen was the local referendum on renovation plans for the Messe Essen site – 50.4 per cent of residents voted against the €120 million investment to modernise the exhibition facility. However our German sister publication Neue Reifenzeitung has learned that the move to Cologne would have occurred no matter what the referendum’s outcome was.

It appears German tyre trade association the BRV would have turned its back on Essen anyway. Correspondence from Koelnmesse GmbH communications head Guido Gudat indicates that the Cologne trade exhibition organiser has been in negotiations with the BRV for a number of months. The trade association has also confirmed that the move to Cologne wouldn’t have been prevented by a positive referendum outcome. “We intentionally withheld the information until the referendum in order not to influence the political decision,” shared BRV executive chairman Peter Hülzer. The association has yet to confirm this information in an official statement.