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 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 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 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

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

(12 times),

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, Janet Jackson, Simple Minds, Phil Collins,

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 ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, Cher, Elton John, Britney Spears,

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

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,

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 i ...

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, Eros Ramazzotti, Bon Jovi,

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

, Metallica, AC/DC, Steps 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 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 i ...

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