The decision was made by EOG members in a voting process that ran from 1-7 February, following the presentation of proposals at the association’s Annual Assembly. In the first round of voting for the three options, Messe München secured more than 50% of all votes cast and will become the official OutDoor fair partner for the European Outdoor Group from 2019.

The EOG announced an official review of the future of OutDoor early in 2017, which was a result of the EOG’s determination to ensure that OutDoor remains a vibrant and essential business platform in the face of rapid technological and societal change. The outdoor sector is still growing and the right platform is essential to support this in the coming years.

Vision 2020 was initially led by an independent working group, who undertook a comprehensive and extensive research project, engaging with EOG members, other stakeholders, and the wider outdoor industry in Europe and around the world. The call for proposals was originally sent out to five trade fair organisations and after a review of their submissions by an independent expert group, this was reduced to a final three: Messe Friedrichshafen, Messe Hamburg and Messe München.

Munich is already host to ISPO in January.

At the EOG’s Annual assembly on the 27 January, each candidate presented their proposals to the membership and answered questions during a Q&A session. Videos of their presentations, and their full proposal documents, were made available to all members on a secure voting platform that went live on 1 February.

The voting process was managed by an independent provider of electoral services (Electoral Reform Services - ERS), with each member receiving one vote. The ballot closed at 17:00 CET on 7 February, after which ERS verified and counted the votes. The results were that 94% of EOG members voted; Messe München received in excess of 65% of the vote and has duly been chosen by the members as the new partner for the OutDoor trade fair.

John Jansen, EOG president, comments: “Vision 2020 has been a robust, inclusive and transparent process. We have communicated openly and frequently with a huge number of people and organisations, and that led to the presentation of three very strong and distinct proposals. The final decision was taken in a truly democratic manner and the strength of the vote for Messe München is a clear sign of unity and determination from the membership. We therefore look forward to building the new show with Messe München from 2019 onwards.

“We are grateful to all of the applicants for their efforts in what was a hard, but fair competition. We would also like to single out a truly special mention for Messe Friedrichshafen, who have worked hard with us over the last years to present a great platform for our sector. This year is the 25th anniversary of OutDoor in Friedrichshafen and while it will undoubtedly be tinged with sadness, we look forward to it being a brilliant celebration of all those years.”