The inaugural event in 2024 already demonstrated that the festival format operates differently from a traditional trade fair. Exhibitors reported more in-depth conversations, more time for substantive discussions, and that they were perceived less as mere product manufacturers and more as partners in transformation projects. Visitors praised the mix of curated stage formats, prototype spaces, installations and the marketplace atmosphere – “more like a cultural festival than a trade fair”, as one visitor put it.

For many, the opportunity to engage with interdisciplinary teams – where, for example, architecture and HR managers shared the stage – represented significant added value that they had not experienced in this way at other events.