English Meetings & Events in Leipzig Meetings & Events in Leipzig Welcome to Leipzig. Freedom, quality of life and inspiration: This is Leipzig. “See for yourself. We would love to welcome you! Burkhard Jung, Mayor of Leipzig ” As the first city in the world to be granted trade-fair rights, back“ in 1497, we have had enough time to gather a wealth ­­of experience from which you benefit today. Volker Bremer, Managing Director of Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH ” In Leipzig (almost) anything is possible, thanks to a tightly woven“ network of partners who work together hand in hand. Axel Ehrhardt, Spokesman for Leipzig Hotel Alliance ” Meetings made in Germany – Leipzig shows what this really means:“ reliability, value for money and the highest level of quality and sustainability. Matthias Schultze, Managing Director, German Convention” Bureau e.V. Our Congress in Leipzig was a wonderful experience – for us as organisers,“ and for our delegates. We enjoyed great teamwork and creative input from our local partners, excellent venues with efficient services and welcoming attitudes, and a city that first surprised and then delighted us all! Martin Sirk, CEO ICCA – International Congress” and Convention Association ... in the sound of music. Henriette-Luise Neubert helps Leipzig’s musical reputation to resound throughout the world. The cellist has been a member of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for over 14 years. Indeed, music and Leipzig have a long common history. Johann Sebastian Bach worked here for 27 years as music director of the city and as cantor at High-class – broad-reaching – light: The Leipzig Trade Fair, one of the most modern trade fair and congress St. Thomas Church, where he conducted the famous St. Thomas Boys complexes in Europe, together with the neighbouring Congress Center Leipzig (CCL), offer the perfect backdrop for Choir. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert and Clara Schumann all kinds of events, from academic conferences and corporate functions right up to large scale projects such as the and Richard Wagner lived in Leipzig, as did Edvard Grieg and Gustav Leipzig Book Fair. Situated at the cross roads of the two main trading routes in the Middle Ages, Leipzig is the oldest Mahler. “Leipzig – it is somehow inherently musical,” observes trade fair site in the world. Today, the Leipzig Trade Fair and the CCL are setting new standards, not only in the form Neubert, who previously worked in Karlsruhe and Dresden. “One of individual service and support packages, but also in the spectacular glass hall, an icon of modern architecture, hears music everywhere, even outside the concert hall.” which is located at the heart of the spacious site. www.leipzig.travel/music www.leipziger-messe.com Intellectual – musical – academic: Leipzig boasts unrivalled collections of books housed in unique places, which document knowledge and culture through the centuries. The Biblio- theca Albertina, one of the longest established university libraries in Germany, is also an ... in the foundations of culture. excellent example of neoclassical architec- ture. The building, which had been largely destroyed, has been completely restored from the 1990s onwards and now offers state-of- the-art facilities for more than 800 students and researchers. Over 150 different courses available at Leipzig University cater to over 28,000 students, and 30 Nobel prize winners have either studied, taught or conducted research in Leipzig. Its most illustrious alumni include Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Richard Wagner, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Angela Merkel. www.ub.uni-leipzig.de Riccardo Chailly was appointed as the 19th music director of Leipzig‘s Gewandhaus Orchestra in 2005. Before his appointment to Leipzig, the world-renowned conductor had worked with numerous orchestras around the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Amsterdam‘s Concertgebouw Orchestra and the New York Philhar- monic, and had made guest appearances in many of the world‘s major concert halls and opera houses. Today, his leadership lends the Gewand- haus Orchestra a unique and passionate profile, which in turn generates global recognition. Chailly, who made his debut in his hometown of Milan at the age of just 17, says of his adopted city: “What particularly touches me here is not only the rich musical tradition – above all it is the warm welcome which is extended to visitors and guests alike.” www.gewandhaus.de … in the power of motion. Johannes Hildebrandt sings in the world-famous St. Thomas Boys Choir, which celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2012, and is thus one of the oldest choirs in the world. The choir was once under the directorship of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the choristers, who number roughly 100, live together in the boarding school, which is fondly referred to as the “Kasten” (box) and Fast-paced – dynamic – growing: For more than ten years, Leipzig has been a key location for the high-end automo- attend the time-honoured St. Thomas School. The educational philosophy is tive industry. The Porsche Customer Centre offers exclusive conference facilities for up to 800 people, with cutting- based on the principles of mutual responsibility and respect for others. With edge media technology, professional support services and excellent catering; altogether exceptional surroundings regular concert tours, the choir has appeared in all the major concert halls in for events of all types and on all scales. And the onsite race tracks offer something out of the ordinary beyond the the world. In Leipzig, the choristers honour the tradition reaching back to conference room, both on-road and off-road. After all, riding in a “race taxi” beside a professional racing driver or Bach‘s time by offering weekly public performances of motets and cantatas. even sitting at the wheel of a Porsche oneself under the professional eye of an instructor turns any event into a www.thomanerchor.de special occasion. www.porsche-leipzig.com … on nature’s trail. TheWie kaummusician ein Sebastian anderer MusikerKrumbiegel verkörpert embodies Sebastian Leipzig‘s Krumbiegel creative potential die Vielschichtigkeit like almost no-one von else. AsLeipzigs a chorister kreativem with the Potenzial: world-famous Als Mitglied St. Thomas des weltberühmten Boys Choir, he Thomanerchors first sang masses sang and ercantatas, erst beforeMessen forming und Kantaten, a rock band gründete while nochhe was zu still Schulzeiten at school andeine then Rockband storming und the eroberte charts withspäter the mit a-capellader A-Cappella-Band band “Die Prinzen „Die ”Prinzen“. Krumbiegel die Pop-Charts. was awarded „Wahnsinn, the Order of wie Merit sich of Leipzig the Federal permanent Republic ofweiterentwickelt. Germany at the Ichend bin of 2012ja nie in wirklich recognition weg gewesenof his long-standing – und lebe trotzdemcommitment ständig to social in einem causes. Natural – diverse – fascinating: Leipzig Zoo has created a unique tropical experience where visitors can see around 90 “It‘sanderen just amazingLeipzig“, how sagt Leipzig Krumbiegel is constantly über seine moving Geburtsstadt. forward. I‘ve Die never Eröffnung really been von away,Gondwana and yet- different kinds of exotic animals and 500 plant species under one roof spanning an area larger than two football everyland begleitetetime I look, er themusikalisch, city has changed, gemeinsam” says mit the den musician vier anderen in reference „Prinzen“. to his hometown. Together pitches. The jungle river Gamanil flows through Gondwanaland, which offers exclusive function spaces with an Asian withwww.sebastiankrumbiegel.de the other four “Princes”, he provided the musical accompaniment to the Gondwanaland flair. For unforgettable events deep in the jungle and in the middle of Leipzig. opening ceremony. www.zoo-leipzig.de www.sebastian-krumbiegel.de Historic – lively – sophisticated: Leipzig’s city centre offers excellent opportunities for shop- ping and memorable experiences, together … in the heart of a city. with a nightlife without closing time. The famous Mädler arcade offers both. Originally built between 1912 and 1914 to house trade fair exhibitions, the complex is today home to elegant cafés and boutiques. And in the underground vaults, you will find Auerbachs Keller, made famous by Goethe’s Faust, serv- ing excellent regional food and drink speci- alities. Two statues at the entrance to the arcade portray characters from Goethe’s most famous tragedy. According to a long-standing tradition, anybody who touches Faust’s foot will be protected against bad luck. www.maedlerpassage.de Prof. Dr. Friedrich-Wilhelm Mohr has built up the cardiac unit at Leipzig’s university hospital to become one of the world’s leading clinics for heart transplants and keyhole heart surgery. With such success stories, academics in Leipzig are maintaining an over 600-year-old tradition; not only at the university, but also at numerous other higher education and research estab- lishments. The Max Planck Society alone has three institutes in Leipzig. The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research boasts unmatched capabilities for researching human impact on ecosystems. And the BIO CITY LEIPZIG is the birthplace of solutions in the fields of biotechnology, biomedicine and healthcare. “Leipzig’s potential is in the heads of its people. If we can mobilise this, we can achieve the impossible,” asserts Mohr, whose previous workplaces include Munich, Frankfurt and Göttingen. www.uni-leipzig.de ... in the breath of inspiration. With his modern figurative style of painting, Neo Rauch has become one of the most sought-after painters worldwide and is the most important representative of the “New Leipzig School”. The School’s geographic heart is a former cotton mill, which has attracted galleries from as far afield as New York and Chicago. “Arts Thrive in Leipzig, Bach’s Backyard” was the New York Times headline to describe Leipzig’s art boom and music tradition. www.eigen-art.com Peter Maria Schnurr is the chef in charge of the Leipzig restaurant FALCO, which was the first restaurant in former East Germany to be awarded two stars by the Michelin Guide, an honour which Schnurr has been able to defend on several occasions since.