Messukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre (formerly Helsinki Fair Centre) is the biggest and best-known

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 ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. It is located in the capital city of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, in the district of

Pasila Pasila (; sv, Böle, ) is a part of Helsinki, Finland, that is both a central-northern neighbourhood and district, bordering the areas of Alppila to the south, the Central Park ( Keskuspuisto) to the west, and Vallila to the east. Pasila is ...

, a short walk northwards from the

Pasila railway station Pasila station ( fi, Pasilan rautatieasema, sv, Böle järnvägstation; previous Swedish name was ''Fredriksberg'' until 1990) is a railway station in Helsinki, Finland, approximately north of Helsinki Central. It is the second busiest railway ...

. Messukeskus Helsinki organizes exhibitions, meetings, conferences and other events: each year about a hundred different trade shows and public fairs and over 2,200 meetings and congresses. The largest regularly occurring exhibitions are Matka Nordic Travel Fair, The International Boat Show, and the Helsinki Book Fair. The centre has over one million annual visitors. The premises of Messukeskus Helsinki include seven exhibition halls, 40 meeting rooms and the 4,400-seat Amfi Hall auditorium. There is a

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

located immediately next to the centre.

History

Messukeskus Helsinki is owned by The Finnish Fair Corporation, which was founded on 19 October 1919 to promote Finnish trade and industry and to boost confidence in domestic production opportunities after the turbulent years of gaining independence. The first fair was held in the summer of 1920 in the field next to St John's Church in Helsinki. The fair became a huge festival with more than 120,000 visitors and nearly 1000 exhibitors. Professionally organised fairs established themselves in Finland right away. Just one year later, in 1921, the next event was considerably more commercial in nature than the first fair. In 1935, the Finnish Fair Corporation had own premises built in Helsinki's Töölö district. When finished, Messuhalli hall (now known as Kisahalli) on main road Mannerheimintie was the largest exhibition venue in the Nordic region. It was the exhibition base for four decades. In 1975, the company moved to current premises into eastern Pasila.

External links

Messukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre website

Messukeskus Helsinki Event calendar

Finnish Exhibition Contractors Association

Finnish Union of Trade Fair Organisers
Buildings and structures in Helsinki Convention centers in Finland Pasila {{Finland-struct-stub

History

See also

External links