For 50 years, ISPO Munich offers an annual preview of the latest sports highlights. © Messe München

Next year is set to be a very special year for the sports industry as the global sports network ISPO will celebrate its 50th anniversary. ISPO Munich has been the highlight ever since 1970. The world’s leading sports trade fair has been providing an overview of the innovative products to emerge from the sports world, generating fresh and important impetus and driving the development of the industry for five whole decades.

The who’s who of the sports industry will be gathering in Munich from 26-29 January under the motto Be responsible. Be active. Be creative., keen to discover the latest outdoor, winter sports and fitness trends and maintain existing contacts and network with new ones. In addition to the trade fair highlights, visitors will also be given an insight into further anniversary activities and events which are planned to take place throughout 2020.

ISPO Munich is the very first highlight in the sports calendar every single year. “For 50 years we have been creating valuable connections, bringing the world of sport together in one place for four days and passionately driving the development of sport,” commented Markus Hefter, Exhibition Director for ISPO Munich. “Our goal is to create enthusiasm for sport in each of us and at the same time to create awareness for a sustainable approach to nature.”

Be responsible – act consciously

Sustainability, whether in relation to production processes or materials, has been a long-running issue for sporting goods manufacturers for many years and is gaining more and more importance due to the social discussion. Anyone keen to find out more about various aspects of sustainable products, from their design and manufacture right through to their sale, should visit the Sustainability Hub.

This will be located in Hall A2 where, for the first time ever, a concise overview of sustainably produced sports products will be provided in a separate, dedicated exhibition area.

Be active – experiencing the world of sport

Visitors can find out how passion for sports can be raised and how the global lack of physical activity can be actively countered within the topic Health, exercise and sport. Numerous activities are planned, including both presentations and live demonstrations on stage.

Yoga professionals, for example, will be demonstrating how people can inject energy into their everyday lives simply with some gentle exercise in the Body & Mind Village in Hall B3. As its name suggests, the Outdoor Snow & Safety Summit in Hall A3 will be all about responsible, careful approaches to outdoor activities whereby experts will be providing attendees with useful information regarding safety both on and off the slopes.

Outside the realm of traditional sports, esports have developed into an important sector of the sports industry boasting a large global fan base and incredible growth figures. The East Entrance at ISPO Munich will be the perfect place to discover more about this new and popular sport and the opportunities it could hold for the sports industry and to even try out some of the games for yourself.

Be creative – inspiring innovation

From the use of new technologies, which make skis even faster and sportswear even lighter right through to the invention of new types of sports equipment, the industry’s innovative prowess knows no bounds. Numerous innovative new products have been unveiled and launched in recent years at ISPO Munich.

The ISPO Brandnew Village in Hall B5 will be highlighting the up-and-coming trends expected to take the start-up scene by storm this year. The standout innovative products created by established sporting goods manufacturers will be showcased as part of the ISPO Award in Hall B1.

Innovation requires inspiration, and this will be provided by the ISPO Academy with its extensive conference programme at the West Entrance. Presentations will be given on various subjects, including digitalization and the Chinese sports market. All highlights from the individual areas and segments can be found online.

www.ispo.com