On Monday, December 9, 2024, a delegation from Thessaloniki Fair TIF HELEXPO, the international exhibition and congress center and the leading agency for organizing exhibitions in Greece, paid a working and friendly visit to the Belgrade Fair.
Dušan Borovčanin, Director of EXPO 2027, introduced the guests to the project of this specialized international exhibition, which will take place in Belgrade for three months in 2027 under the title “Play for Humanity – Sports and Music for All.”
Ljuba Stambolić, a representative of the company’s management, spoke about the current and future prospects of the Belgrade Fair, which will continue its operations at a new location, upon completion of EXPO 2027.
Expressing gratitude for the hospitality and valuable information, Kiriakos Pozrikidis, Director of TIF HELEXPO, reflected on the long-standing cooperation and future initiatives: “Our contribution to the EXPO project has a long tradition. As one of the candidates for EXPO 2008, we lost to Spain, but we opened the doors to the Balkans, thus allowing Belgrade the opportunity to now host EXPO 2027. We are very proud to be part of that success.”
Pozrikidis reminded that “TIF HELEXPO will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, which is a significant milestone. From June 4 to 6, 2025, we will organize European Week in Thessaloniki to mark the centenary of our company and FUFI (Future Foundation International).”
He invited all representatives of the Belgrade Fair and EXPO to be their guests and take the opportunity to present the EXPO 2027 project to the world.
The Director of the Belgrade Fair, Danka Selić, welcomed the “proven friends and reliable business partners” with whom it is a great pleasure “to exchange experiences, good ideas, and examples of best practices. This especially refers to the mutual support regarding the major projects that both companies will soon face.”
She emphasized that they are “on the cusp of great challenges and opportunities presented by the EXPO 2027 project –in organizational, economic, marketing, and every other aspect of sustainable business – where expert, supportive, and sincere advice is of golden value. Especially from friends who have a thorough, highly professional understanding of the issues and live the real life of the exhibition industry. Likewise, the Belgrade Fair is always ready to share with their Thessaloniki partners, all available knowledge and experience that may be of use to their Greek friends.”
Incidentally, this is not the first contact between the two major fair companies. In June 2023, a delegation from the Belgrade Fair visited HELEXPO in Thessaloniki on the occasion of the World Exhibition Industry Day. During their visit, the Belgrade guests were introduced to the long history of the fair and the planned projects related to further development and construction of the new exhibition complex. While touring the exhibition halls, they were also familiarized with the operations and organization of trade fairs and commercial exhibitions, which are held on an annual basis in exhibition spaces that meet European specifications.
The close cooperation and friendship with the Thessaloniki fair, established through various joint activities within the International Fair Union (UFI) and the Central European Fair Union (CEFA), were further confirmed on “their terrain”, during the 1st BALKAN FORUM in 2019. The main topic of the gathering was the improvement of trans-Balkan infrastructure, particularly the transportation network, as well as cooperation in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation.
