The 2016 edition of Cersaie will undoubtedly see a major influx of foreign visitors, who last year accounted for 47.4% of total attendance.
So the event will again be the international showcase that it was in 2015, which saw total attendance of 101,809 people (+0.8%), 48,231 of whom were from outside Italy, representing a rise of 1,632 on the previous edition.
The 156,000 square metres of exhibition space at the Bologna trade fair complex are now being prepared once again to showcase the products of about 900 companies from all over the world: in 2015, 37% of the 872 exhibitors were from outside Italy and represented 39 different countries.
The manifesto 2016 emphasizes both the Bolognese kermis’ catalyst role in the global trade and the focus on the ceramic product as an important functional element for design. It originated from the competition "beautiful ideas" aimed at students of design institutes: a new image that comprises four factors behind the concept, including the fair as a meeting place, the interaction between people and the subject knowledge.
Besides the opening Lectio Magistralis held by Norman Foster, renowned international architects will hold several speeches within the thematic talk program “building living thinking” that will feature, first of all, Ugo La Pietra, Solano Benítez, Manuel Aires Mateus, Shelley McNamara and Ivonne Farrell (Grafton Architects).
A “port” will be the star of the 3rd collective exhibition held at Cersaie 2016, curated by Angelo Dall’Aglio and Davide Vercelli. In the wake of the success of the two previous editions, Cer-Sea in 2014 and Cer-Stile in 2015 – which attracted a total of 23,500 visitors and 146 exhibitor companies – Cer-Sail Italian Style Concept aims to provide economic stimulus by bringing a selection of top-end companies into contact with international buyers and an audience of professionals constantly on the look-out for new creative cues.
