From 7–9 October, Munich is hosting the 26th annual real estate and investment fair Expo Real, which gathers together leading investors, developers, banks, cities and regions, real estate agents, lawyers and other key players in the real estate market. Last year’s Expo Real featured almost 1 900 exhibitors and attracted over 40 000 participants from 70 countries – making it an ideal opportunity for Czech exhibitors to showcase themselves. This year, there will be a joint exhibition by Prague, Ostrava and the Moravian-Silesian Region under the banner ‘Czech Cities & Regions’, which will provide potential international partners and investors with a full range of information about the investment environment in the Czech Republic.
- Reflecting Expo Real’s prestigious status, the Czech stand will feature a number of high-ranking political representatives (city mayors and their deputies, the Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region, and the Czech Republic’s General Consul in Munich Ivana Červenková) as well as representatives of the CzechInvest agency.
- There will be a varied programme of accompanying events at the stand, including appearances by world-renowned architects presenting current and planned projects in Prague and Ostrava: Robert Konieczny (KWK PROMES), who designed the conversion of Ostrava’s historic slaughterhouse to create a contemporary art gallery, and Shane Dalke (BIG), the architect of the Vltava Philharmonic Hall in Prague. There will also be a panel discussion featuring members of the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform, Ostrava’s Technical University and the Moravian-Silesian Innovation Centre, plus a range of other guests sharing their expertise.
The stylish exhibition stand, covering an area of 228 m2 in hall A (stand no. 430) has been designed by the renowned architectural and urban planning studio CHYBIK+KRISTOF ASSOCIATED ARCHITECTS. As at last year’s Expo Real, this year too the stand reflects contemporary trends in architecture with a strong emphasis on sustainability. It incorporates several spaces for meetings (both formal and informal), while also offering visitors excellent levels of comfort coupled with comprehensive facilities. Throughout the fair, the Czech Cities & Regions stand will be hosting a range of presentations (for details see the full accompanying programme at https://investinostrava.cz/en/expo-real/).
Reasons for participating in Expo Real, synergies created by the Czech Cities & Regions exhibition
The Czech Cities & Regions format generates powerful synergies – helping Ostrava, the Moravian-Silesian Region and Prague to maximize the benefits of this major international event. Ostrava’s Mayor Jan Dohnal, who has been participating in Expo Real since 2022, explained how the city can benefit from the event: “It’s very important to present ourselves. To meet with investors we already know, and to make new contacts. To get up-to-date information about what’s happening on the global real estate market, and to take inspiration from other regions and cities. We have already developed this joint exhibition concept in previous years, and it has proved to be highly effective and beneficial.” Expo Real has been the starting-point for a number of successful partnerships that have led to exciting new projects in Ostrava; the first negotiations on the sale of the land for the T-Park took place in Munich, as did negotiations that later led to major investments at Karolina, Hrušov and the industrial zone in Mošnov. Ostrava is a leader among cities and regions in how it presents itself, and above all how it prepares offers for investors. It’s clear that the results we’ve achieved have been based on continuous, long-term efforts by a large team of people in Ostrava. Šárka Šimoňáková, the Deputy Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region, explained what the region can gain from its presence at Expo Real: “It’s very important for our region to participate in international investment events such as this. Our joint presentation of investment opportunities helps to boost awareness of us as an attractive investment destination. At the same time, this partnership enables us to present a broader, more comprehensive portfolio of opportunities at industrial zones in the Czech Republic. We’re convinced that together with Prague and Ostrava, we will generate strong interest from potential partners and investors, helping to create new business opportunities in the region.” Prague’s Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda echoed these thoughts: “Expo Real is a prestigious event, so as a capital city we consider it an honour to take part. We are determined to preserve Prague’s unique historical character, but we’re also supporting new projects – including construction projects. That’s why we consider it exceptionally beneficial to be able to share experiences with other European cities.” Deputy Mayor of Prague Petr Hlaváček added: “I warmly welcome the continuation of our joint presentations at Expo Real alongside our colleagues from Ostrava and the Moravian-Silesian Region. Previous years have demonstrated that we are able to complement each other very effectively, with each city and region offering its own unique development potential – helping us to attract strategic partners and investors from other countries.”
Ostrava at Expo Real
Ostrava is being transformed thanks to world-class architects. At last year’s Expo Real, the city offered the tallest building in Ostrava for sale – and now it has signed a contract with a private investor that will revitalize the “skyscraper” in Ostrčilova Street to a design by the renowned Czech architect Eva Jiřičná. Another world-famous architect, Steven Holl, attended the ceremonial tapping of the foundation stone for Ostrava’s new concert hall in July. This 4 billion CZK investment will create an iconic cultural landmark of outstanding architectural quality, boosting Ostrava’s international profile as a dynamic European urban centre. The conversion of the city’s historic slaughterhouse complex to create a modern art gallery is the only Czech project ever to have reached the final stage of the Mies van der Rohe Award – the European Union’s prize for contemporary architecture. The architect responsible for the conversion, Robert Konieczny, will be giving a presentation of the conversion project at this year’s Expo Real. Another recently completed project in Ostrava is the restoration of the 1920s Grossmann Villa, which has attracted huge interest among experts and the general public. Ostrava is determined to continue implementing exciting urban development projects with high added value – and this intention is reflected in the offer the city is presenting at this year’s Expo Real. The converted slaughterhouse and the new concert hall will form part of a larger area in the central part of the city where modern architecture will co-exist in harmony with history and tradition. One of Ostrava’s main arterial roads, 28. října Street, will be developed into an impressive boulevard at the heart of a district featuring sensitively restored historic buildings and bold modern architecture, complemented by pleasant public spaces with attractive greenery and sophisticated, sustainable urban water management systems. This main road will become one of the focal points of Ostrava’s urban organism, continuing westward along Opavská Street into the highly desirable residential area of Poruba. Here, Ostrava is offering for sale a site between Opavská and Martinovská Streets, which would be an ideal location for a developer to build a stylish hotel and apartment complex at the heart of Poruba. Another lucrative opportunity is at Plzeňská Street in the Ostrava-Jih district; this site, surrounded by greenery and offering excellent access, would be ideal for a senior citizens’ centre including services and residential units. Ostrava is also rising to a unique challenge with the planned architectural competition for a new football stadium at Bazaly – the historic home of Baník Ostrava Football Club, one of the city’s most iconic symbols and an integral part of its identity.
The Moravian-Silesian Region at Expo Real
The Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Josef Bělica gave details of the region’s participation at Expo Real: “We are presenting a complete range of investment opportunities in the region, from large industrial zones to smaller parks and individual sites. Potential investors will gain a complete overview of available locations that are already prepared, as well as sites where preparations are underway. We’ll also be presenting locations that our initial analyses have identified as having strong commercial potential. Our offer includes not only sites belonging to large landowners and developers, but also land in municipal ownership, where cities and municipalities are working alongside our regional development agency Moravian-Silesian Investment and Development (MSID). In addition, we’ll be showcasing our strong human potential, including our universities and research institutions. We are keen to continue building a good reputation for the region, attracting investors that will bring new energy, technologies and jobs. That in turn will strengthen our economy and enhance our quality of life.” The region will be displaying opportunities for investors seeking sites or buildings for manufacturing and logistics, as well as for offices, retail units or residential developments. The focus will be on sites of at least 1 hectare, though smaller city-centre sites will also be featured at the presentation.
Prague at Expo Real
Prague will be focusing on two main topics at this year’s Expo Real. The first is the Old Town Market Hall, where the city will be holding a competitive dialogue to select a partner that will run the operation. The second topic is a catalogue of ten development projects including land and buildings currently being prepared by the city in conjunction with its Trade Centre Prague agency. The accompanying programme at the Expo Real stand will also showcase the planned project for the Vltava Philharmonic Hall, which will become a new cultural and architectural landmark in the city. A presentation of the plans will be given by Shane Dalke from the BIG studio, the winner of the architectural competition for the new hall.
About the 26th Expo Real
Expo Real is one of Europe’s two premier real estate and investment events (alongside MIPIM, which is held every spring in Cannes). The organizer Messe München expects this year’s event to at least match last year’s attendance figures, with tens of thousands of visitors and almost 2 000 exhibitors at presentations in 7 halls covering a total exhibition area of 75 000 m2. Expo Real also features a generous accompanying programme, thematically divided into 9 discussion forums. This year’s focus will be on topics such as smart buildings, energy management in residential districts, digitalization, decarbonization, AI and robotics.
The Czech Cities & Regions stand:
hall A, stand no. 430
Partners of the Czech Cities & Regions exhibition at Expo Real 2024:
The general partner of the exhibition is OAMP, the owner of the Multimodal Logistics Centre at the Mošnov Strategic Industrial Zone near Ostrava.
Other partners are Sekyra Group, CzechInvest, SIRS (the State Investment and Development Company), CTP, Finep, Linkcity, Panattoni, Asental and PRK Partners.
Details about the accompanying programme at the Czech Cities & Regions stand:
https://investinostrava.cz/en/expo-real/
Database of investment opportunities in the Moravian-Silesian Region:
https://www.msid.cz/nabidka-ploch/
