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 spectato ...

and convention center located in

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

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 cultu ...

, 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 Marc Mortier (9 December 1948 – 3 May 2004) was CEO of Flanders Expo from its foundation in 1986 to 2002. Flanders Expo is the biggest event hall in Flanders, and the second biggest in Belgium (Flanders Expo's indoor surface is 55,000 m²). Mo ...

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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, U2,

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, Scorpions,

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, AC/DC,

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etc. Every year in autumn it is host to the I Love Techno 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 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 ...

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