The dates of the World Publishing Expo (IFRA Expo), the largest global trade exhibition for the news publishing and media industry, remain the same: 29 to 31 October next, at the Messe Frankfurt exhibition centre. Full details can be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/expo2012

“We are an organisation that responds to our customers, and many exhibitors and our members have requested a move,” said Jacob Mathew, President of WAN-IFRA. “This is not a reflection on Madrid as a venue.  But many of our customers want a more central European venue to reduce travel costs and provide easier access. We want to provide the best possible conditions for our exhibitors to get most attention for their publishing solutions and production systems.”

Frankfurt, a major international hub, is one of the world’s most popular exhibition destinations. It is less than a three-hour flight from any European city. The airport – a 20 minute taxi ride from the exhibition centre – serves 108 airlines with more than 4,200 direct flights a week to 304 destinations. Some 5.5 million people live in the metropolitan area.

This is not the first time the Expo has moved. A similar decision was taken in 2000 to move the event from Stockholm to Amsterdam.

Last year’s Expo in Vienna drew 8,000 visitors from more than 90 countries and 306 exhibitors, including printing press manufacturers, editorial and advertising system providers, new media providers and other suppliers to the newspaper industry.

WAN-IFRA, based in Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, with subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden, is the global organisation of the world’s newspapers and news publishers. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries. Its core mission is to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and editorial integrity and the development of prosperous businesses.

Learn more about WAN-IFRA at http://www.wan-ifra.org or through the WAN-IFRA Magazine at http://www.wan-ifra.org/magazine

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO and Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 96 bis, rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 07. Fax: +33 1 42 78 92 33. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org