References

Dates: 1,000 22 to 24 May 2019 | Participants:1.000
2019.itf-oecd.org

ITF is the world's most important gathering for transport ministers and representatives of the global transport industry and has been taking place at CCL since 2008. The number of participants in the in-person International Transport Forum grew far beyond its base of 62 member countries to over 1,400 from more than 80 countries by 2019. This trusted cooperation with CCL continued throughout the pandemic. ITF 2021 took place for the first time in a purely virtual form with CCL transformed into a broadcasting studio at the centre of the event. CCL live-streamed key sessions during the digital ITF summit 2021 with ministers and stakeholders from the international mobility industry taking part online and holding the meeting of transport ministers from ITF member countries alongside other events.

ITF is not only a political and economic highlight for Leipziger Messe and CCL. It is also an event with special appeal for the city of Leipzig and the entire region due to its high profile in national and international media.

The strengths of the entire Leipziger Messe Group of Companies can be clearly seen in the organisation and execution of the event, from planning and realisation of the accompanying exhibition, the event catering, the congress programme, exclusive evening events, trade fair and event services, protocol and visitor services, logistics and security to IT and communication.

Dates: 28 to 31 January 2020 | Participants 4,946 from 80 countries
www.leipzig-interventional-course.com

CCL hosts the Leipzig Interventional Course each year at the end of January. The LINC is one of the most important specialist congresses in the field of interventional, i.e. minimally invasive vascular medicine, and is aimed at doctors from various disciplines from all over the world. The LINC Congress has already fulfilled its predicted role as the "congress of the future".

Generally, congresses are expected to become more integrative and communicative as the rigid spatial and temporal boundaries between the different congress elements continue to dissolve. This trend can be clearly observed at LINC. Participants plan their time at the congress using a very unique "pick-and-mix" of programme items that are most interesting and important to them. Opportunities for casual networking are not limited to breaks but are instead constant and everywhere, with participants moving flexibly between different sessions, posters and exhibitions.

Another prediction is that the layout of congresses will change to best accommodate the need for greater flexibility and integration. The boundaries between lecture halls, exhibition, poster area, foyers and catering zones at LINC are already becoming blurred. The entrances to lecture halls are kept completely open and there is no rigid and soundproof boundary between lectures and other congress events. Lecture halls, exhibitions and foyers are within direct view and earshot of one another and are integrated to form a combined event area. As modern as this layout is, it also harks back to one of mankind's most ancient cultural achievements: the idea of the marketplace.

It has also been predicted that sensory experiences will play a greater role in the design of congresses in the future. Participants entering the LINC hall will see that all design elements of the congress have been perfectly planned to complement each other. In the layout of the lecture forums, different shapes come into play: some have a rectangular floor plan with the stage at the front while others are circular and arranged around a central stage. Each forum is dominated by a particular colour that is created primarily using lighting effects.

At LINC, you can also notice the fact that technical requirements for congresses are becoming more demanding and more complex. There are more than 90 operations from operating theatres around the world broadcast live to the congress over the four-day period. A camera stream from an operating theatre and a live X-ray stream in full HD quality as well as explanatory charts will be projected simultaneously from different operations onto huge screens set up in several forums. This places very high demands on networking and presentation technology. However, it is not only such complex presentations that put technical capabilities to the test, since participants also bring the world with them to the congress events with their mobile devices. The Leipzig exhibition halls' WiFi infrastructure has been upgraded accordingly.

Overall, LINC has already been an impressive example for many years of how the inimitable experience of an on-site congress can be enhanced using digital and hybrid elements.

Dates: 16 to 18 September 2021 | Participants 4,500

Visceral Medicine took place from 16 to 18 September 2021 and was the first major conference to be held at the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) after the compulsory break due to the pandemic. The congress with over 4,000 visitors showed how even large and complex on-site events can be successfully held again with the right concepts and measures.

Visceral Medicine combines the annual conferences of the German Society for Gastroenterology, Digestive and Metabolic Diseases with the Section for Gastroenterological Endoscopy (DGVS) and the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV). The six-day event in 2021 for the first time combined digital and on-site formats. After three days of exclusively online presentations, the congress continued on-site at CCL from 16 to 18 September.

The Visceral Medicine Congress has already taken place several times in Leipzig and was able to welcome almost as many visitors as before the pandemic. The congress layout was just as complex as ever. All areas of the CCL building were used fully along with the adjacent Hall 2. Here, the Leipziger Messe Group had installed four additional conference rooms. In front of these, around 10,000 square meters were filled with approximately 100 exhibitor stands and central catering areas.

CCL is a Leipziger Messe location and is therefore covered by the "Safe Expo" concept. This is based on the current Saxon Corona Protection Ordinance and on the officially approved hygiene concept. The "Safe Expo" section on the Leipziger Messe website contains a link to the Corona Protection Ordinance as well as a clear list of the specific measures that apply at events. At the time Visceral Medicine took place, the central elements were the "GGG rule" (access for vaccinated, recovered and tested participants) and registration for contact tracing as well as the hygiene concept measures. Thanks to very close and trusting cooperation between the organising professional societies DGVS and DGAV, the implementing agency Interplan AG and the Congress Center Leipzig as the host venue, the hygiene measures and the congress as a whole were able to take place very successfully.

Petra Köpping, Saxony's Minister of State for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion and also responsible for the Health Department, placed the congress in a wider social context during her visit: "It is thanks to the public that we are able to stand here today. The fact that people were cooperative and complied with the measures and that they are now getting vaccinated – these were all prerequisites for us to be able to do this again. And I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for that."

The Leipziger Messe video documents this and other original statements from the congress, together with both motion pictures and emotional impressions of the return to live events.

Dates: 02 to 05 September 2020 | Participants: 600 on-site and 200 online via stream

This congress was an essential milestone that marked a new beginning for everyone involved. At its 62nd conference, taking place at CCL after the lockdown, the German Society for Phlebology showed that conferences, trade fairs and congresses are once again possible in Saxony. 600 participants came to Leipzig and 200 additional interested parties from 20 countries took part via livestream. Both the organisers and the participants were highly satisfied and grateful to have been able to meet their professional colleagues again for personal exchange. The concepts inside the buildings, the officially approved hygiene concept and the professional organisation all helped to create a relaxed atmosphere.

The large halls at CCL made it possible to comply with the relevant social distancing requirements in place at the time. Transparent partition walls provided protection during registration and at the exhibition stands. All areas were provided with disinfectants, cleaning was intensified, there was signposting with health protection information and increased ventilation.

This case study shows that it is precisely in such challenging times that partnerships based on trust prove their worth. The fact that the Phlebology Congress took place on-site as one of the first major congresses after the lockdown of 2020 was mainly due to the determination of the DGP, and especially the conference president Dr Tobias Hirsch. The commitment and professionalism of the Wiesbaden agency wikonect also helped to stop the flood of cancellations for events of this kind that had dominated business up to this point.

Dates: 11 to 19 October 2018 | Participants: 4,500
www.dsag.de/dsag-jahreskongress-2018-business-ohne-grenzen-architektur-der-zukunft

This congress is a large event with very complex requirements and is one of CCL's long-standing regular clients. The German-speaking SAP User Group e.V. has already held its annual congress at the Leipzig Exhibition Centre six times in the years 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2018. This network represents the interests of German-speaking users of SAP products and is one of the most influential user associations in the world, with more than 60,000 members from over 3,700 companies. DSAG's goal is to expand and improve SAP software products in a spirit of partnership and cooperation between SAP software users and SAP.

Several features contribute to making the DSAG Annual Congress special. Firstly, the nature of the content at this event places extremely complex demands on the IT infrastructure and level of service at the exhibition centre. Secondly, the high demand for space can only be met thanks to the size and flexibility of the site in Leipzig. The full 20,000 square metres available in Hall 2 are covered by exhibitor stands and the plenum with its elaborate stage design is specially built into the adjacent Exhibition Hall 4. There is high-quality and sustainable catering available around the clock. Finally, the Great Glass Hall provides an impressive atmosphere for the emotional highlight of the event at the gala evening, with elaborate decorations and a laser show.

• First event in 2009: 4 days annually in late January
• 5,000 participants

• First event in 2008: 3 days annually in May/June
• 1,000 participants
• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

• 2011, 2014, 2021: 4 days in September
• 4,500 participants
• German Society for Gastroenterology, Digestive and Metabolic Diseases with the Section for Gastroenterological Endoscopy (DGVS) and the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV).

• 2017 – 2019: 27 to 30 December
• 15,000 participants
• CCC Chaos Computer Club

• 2016 – 2019: 4 days in May/June
• 7,000 participants
• German Radiography Society, Society of Medical Radiology (DRG)

• First event in 2007: every four years, 7 days in September
• 2,000 participants
• ver.di – Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (united trade union for employees in service companies)

• 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018: 3 days in early December
• 6,000 participants
• Deutsche Interdisziplinäre Vereinigung für Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin (German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine)

• 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011: 3 days in October
• 5,000 participants
• Deutschsprachige SAP Anwender Gesellschaft (German-speaking SAP User Group)

• 15 to 17 May 2019
• 1,500 participants
• German Bar Association (DAV)

• 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019: 3 days in May
• 3,000 participants
• The German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine

• 24 to 25 October 2017 and 23 to 25 October 2018
• 2,500 participants
• Microsoft Partner Network Deutschland

• 26 to 28 September 2018
• 2,500 participants
• Deutscher Juristentag e.V.

• 12 to 15 September 2018
• 2,300 participants
• German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ), German Society of Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (DGSPJ), German Society of Child Surgery (DGKCH)

• 12 to 15 August 2018
• 2,500 participants
• International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME)

• 21 to 24 June 2018
• 3,000 participants
• German Society of Radiation Oncology (DEGRO)

• 20 to 23 September 2017
• 5,000 participants
• German Society of Neurology (DGN)

• 29 June to 7 July 2017
• 1,000 participants
• World Communion of Reformed Churches

• 7 to 10 December 2016
• 3,250 participants
• European Society of Cardiology

• 14 to 18 October 2016
• 6,000 participants
• German Society of Hematology and Oncology (DGHO)

• 28 September to 01 October 2016
• 7,000 participants
• German Society of Urology (DGU)