Flanders Expo is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

and

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

located in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, Belgium. Flanders Expo was founded in 1986 and officially opened in May 1987 with the third edition of Flanders Technology International. It serves as a venue to host a large variety of events including concerts, exhibitions, trade fairs and sports. The first CEO was Marc Mortier from 1986 till 2002.

Building

Flanders Expo is the biggest event hall in the Flanders region and the second biggest in Belgium. It is the 40th largest exhibition complex in the world. The complex consists of eight interconnecting halls, each of which can be used separately, a conference centre and three restaurants. Hall 8's capacity is more than 13,000 people. In the vicinity of the halls, there are 4,000 parking spaces.

Halls

The central-located flagship hall, Hall 1, is the largest hall and offers an area of 19.152 m². To the left of this central hall are Halls 2, 4 and 6, on the right are 3, 5 and 7. These identical halls all offer 4.032 m² of space. Hall 8 was later added, this is a large multi-purpose square hall with an area of 10.735 m² and a height of 13 meters. This height and a special sound wall helped to improve the acoustics in the hall thus making it suitable for larger productions such as sporting and musical events. On the first floor there is a large room of 850 m², this is called the Forum.

History of events

Concerts

Until 2002, a lot of concerts took place in Flanders Expo. Famous artists who have performed in Flanders Expo include

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(12 times),

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Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

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Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

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Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

, U2,

Nick Kamen Ivor Neville "Nick" Kamen (15 April 1962 – 4 May 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and model. He was best known for "Turn It Up" from 1989, the singles "Each Time You Break My Heart" from 1986 and "I Promised Myself" from 1990, ...

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, Steps etc. Every year in autumn it is host to the

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music festival. It is the biggest indoor techno festival in Europe, with 60,000 visitors in one evening.

Sport

It hosted the 1988 FIBA Champions Cup Final four. The

2015 Davis Cup World Group The World Group was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2015. The first-round losers went into the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs, and the winners progressed to the quarterfinals and World Group spot for 2016. Participating teams S ...

final between

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

was held at the Expo.

Notes

External links

* Indoor arenas in Belgium Convention centres in Belgium Sports venues in East Flanders Sport in Ghent Buildings and structures in Ghent Buildings and structures completed in 1987 Tourist attractions in Ghent {{Belgium-sports-venue-stub