Turin, 10 February 2009 - This morning it was publicly announced at Turin’s city hall, Palazzo Civico, that – following the call for tenders organised by the municipality of Turin on 7 October 2008 – GL events has won the contract regarding management of the Oval and sale of the trade fair division of Expo 2000. When the agreement is finally stipulated, operations at the Oval, including management activities, shall join the other operational and management activities of Lingotto Fiere (Lingotto Fiere has been a member of the group since July 2007).
As part of the agreement, which is to last 25 years (terminating in 2034), GL events undertakes to provide for routine and extraordinary maintenance work at the facility which hosted the speed skating competitive events during the 2006 Turin Games.
GL events plans also to build Hall 4 at the Lingotto Fiere trade fair site. This will provide a link between the existing halls and the Oval and will enable to provide optimal services for events and to attract other highly prestigious events in the future.
With the Oval and the new hall, Lingotto Fiere’s total surface area shall increase to nearly 80,000 square metres. These surface area specifications are strategically significant since they will place Lingotto Fiere, as a trade fair district, in the medium-to-high sector – a more highly competitive sector within the domestic market.
“GL events’ commitment to our area indicates how much faith they have in our city, above all in these times of crisis” – commented the mayor, Sergio Chiamparino – and the investments of a group such as GL events are indicative of their desire and their ability to look beyond the current economic situation. This operation crowns our efforts to see the Lingotto zone fully live up to its vocation as a centre for tertiary sector and congress activities”.
“For our group, as a market, Italy ranks first in importance, directly after our domestic market” – states GL events chairman, Olivier Ginon – “and we shall forge on with our investment activities favouring local development, in full respect of specific local characteristics and of the culture and values of our company and of our partners. As happens in other major centres which host international events, the energies of the city must all converge and work toward promoting Turin in no uncertain terms, both within Italy and internationally. I thank the Mayor, Sergio Chiamparino, and the City for the faith they have placed in us and express my appreciation at the fruitful teamwork spirit that has been displayed”.
Lingotto Fiere is a member of the French group, GL events – a stock exchange-listed company, and one of the major international leaders in the field of events organisation, trade fair premises and district management, and services provision. GL events organises more than 2,100 events worldwide for a total number of more than 30,000 exhibitors serving more than 4 million visitors and economic operators. GL events owns or manages 28 exhibition districts in various continents. These locations include France, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, the United States and China.
A transalpine group, GL events avails itself of the services of nearly 3,000 operators working out of more than 80 offices in 13 countries – including Italy, where GL events is the proprietor, through its holding company, GL events Italia, of the exhibition centre, Lingotto Fiere di Torino, of Promotor International (a company based in Bologna active in the automobile trade fair events sector) and of shares in the Bologna and Rimini trade fair districts. GL events is also active in the Veneto region with an 80% shareholding in the company responsible for management of Padua’s trade fair district, the remaining 20% belonging to public sector partners.
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