The Mayor

BusinessFacts Cologne

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No. 2 / September 2010

Dear Readers,

The spotlight in this issue of “Busi-ness Facts Cologne”, published by Cologne’s Office of Economic De-velopment, is on gamescom 2010. As the leading European event for the computer games industry, it sets standards and was once again the highlight in Cologne, Germany’s com-puter games capital. This year it was again preceded by the GDC Europe, the discussion platform for develop-ers and the major companies in the industry. As a Business Ambassador, we interviewed Gerald Böse, Chief Ex-ecutive Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. Good arguments for the location of Cologne – Germany’s radio and TV capital – round off the information.

I hope, the latest “Business Facts Co-logne” will be of interest to you.

Karl-Heinz MerfeldDirector of the Office of Economic Development

Well frequented: gamescom 2010 in Cologne attracted visitors and exhibitors from 33 countries.

In the Spotlight: Cologne - the German Games Metropolis

The motto in August 2010 was again: Cologne hails the games and the games hail Cologne, Germany’s computer games capital.

Record numbers of exhibitors and visi-tors: gamescom 2010, the leading Eu-ropean event of the computer games industry, was held for the second time in Cologne from 18 to 22 August 2010 and welcomed 254,000 visitors, includ-ing 18,900 trade visitors as well as 505 exhibitors from 33 countries and 4,400 media representative from 49 countries.

It was thus even bigger and more interna-tional than last year’s magnificent event. Of the 505 exhibitors, no less than 230

companies came from abroad, so that the internationality in terms of exhibi-tors rose to 45.7 percent. The clear in-crease in the number of visitors as well as the extremely positive feedback from the industry, trade and private visitors, prove that the fair was a success for all concerned. During the five spectacular days of the fair, the visitors could try out

and play 200 games being given their world, Europe and German premieres. An independent jury of experts awarded

No. 2 / September 2010Business Facts Cologne

the gamescom-Award 2010 to the best products. Within the scope of “games-com-Competence”, the state of NRW, the City of Cologne, the BIU (German Trade Association of Interactive Entertainment Software) and Koelnmesse organized the gamescom Congress. This year the joy of motoring – associated with it the interest in motorsport and the automobile – was specially featured. Festival visitors were given the opportunity, besides numer-ous game alternatives, to take a look at automobile development with examples from the real world. Two real giants in the automobile sector, Audi and Volkswagen, presented their latest products with real models. For the first time, the fair also had an official partner country with Canada. Already at the start of the Games days, the developer conference GDC Europe (Game Developers Conference Europe) from 16 – 18 August 2010, had set the tone with almost 1,500 participants, 170 speakers and around 300 media repre-sentatives from 45 countries. A special highlight was the opening concert on 18 August, with Revolverheld and stan-four, opened by Mayor Jürgen Roters at

the Tanzbrunnen. The City-Festival on Cologne’s Inner Ring Road between Rudolfplatz and Friesenplatz again sup-ported this year’s gamescom from 20 – 22 August. Review:gamescom 2009 advanced right from the start to be the most important annual event of the interactive entertainment industry in Europe. In space of 120,000

square metres, world, European and Ger-man premieres took place. 4,000 media representatives from 48 countries as well as 17,000 trade visitors impressively un-derlined the dynamics of the media and communication location Cologne. With the GDC Europe, the international com-munity of game developers had a suc-cessful start with 1,500 delegates and more than 250 media representatives prior to gamescom.

© Koelnmesse

News in Brief:

3rd NRW Day of the Turkish-German Business Meeting on 12 November in Cologne: This year’s NRW Day will be integrated into the Turkey Theme Day being held from 11 – 14 November. The business congress will be flanked by cultural events, in particularly, in the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum. The Kölner Filmhaus with Turkish Film Days and the University of Cologne with the start of its new German-Turkish course of studies in commercial law, will add to the programme. The series of events to mark the Culture Capital year of Cologne’s twin city Istanbul are under the patronage of Mayor Jürgen Roters. www.stadt-koeln.de

Defiance founds European headquarters in Cologne: With the Indian high-tech company Defiance Tech GmbH, a supplier of a wide range of engineering services, production planning and company solutions for the entire industrial value added chain has settled in Cologne on the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring.

NRW - Cities and Regions: The March issue of the Japanese newsletter NRW Cities and Regions, published by NRW Invest, provides a detailed introduction to the business location Cologne. The online version can be called-up here:www.nrw.co.jp/data/newsletters/cities/1002.html

Cologne International: Discover and experience IndiaFollowing the first much talked-about Cologne India Week last year, the second India Week was held in June: from 11 to 19 June 2010, the Deutsch-Indische Ge-sellschaft Bonn-Köln e.V. (German-Indian Society), the University of Cologne, the Cologne Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry together with many other Cologne organizers and with support of the City of Cologne, offered all interested parties a

colourful India programme. For ten days the focus was on an exchange of ideas and deepening of German-Indian relations as well as chances and prospects for closer co-operation in the areas of business, science and culture between Cologne and India. Highlights of the business-related pro-gramme of Cologne’s India Week were the events “Winning in India - Practical Tips for German Companies”, India Day 2010,

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the Cologne Tourism Forum 2010 on the future market India, the 5th Indo-German ICT-Conference, and the General Meeting of the Indo-German Business Forum. The conferences informed a wide audience about current fields of activity and eco-nomic developments in a German-Indian context. Numerous events in the areas of culture and science also provided an ac-

tive dialog and exchange. For example, the Indian culture evening with music and dance was popular, as were readings by popular Indian writers. Cologne’s India Week had a splendid finale in a cricket match with live commentary between the Cologne Challengers and the ultimately victorious Indian Dare Devils. The Cologne Challengers team, made up

of a selection of Cologne cricketers includ-ing, among others, member of the newly-formed cricket section of the ASV, played a thrilling game with the Indian Dare Devils team which, under the leadership of the Indian Consul General H.E. Shri. Ajit Kumar, was made up of Indian diplomats, consult-ants and lawyers resident in Europe.

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A Conversation with: Gerald Böse, Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH

Gerald Böse was born in Munich and after working in Munich, Düsseldorf and Karls-ruhe, has been manag-ing Koelnmesse GmbH since March 2008.

How do you see your responsibilities as a Business Ambassador in real terms? Each Business Ambassador must contribute at his place to establishing the attractiveness of the region in the minds of business partners, investors and opinion-leaders. My place for this is Koelnmesse. We make direct contacts. Year after year, our events attract 2 to 3 million people to Cologne, predominantly high-profile decision-makers and among them, approximately one million foreign guests. These gain their own impressions – not only of the infrastructure and the potential of the economic region, but also of the soft factors, the quality of life and the leisure facilities.

What are your most powerful arguments for the (trade fair) City of Cologne? Cologne stands for business and joie de vivre. That’s a unique mix. That also includes things which we may regard as clichées: the Cathedral, Carnival, the hospitality and the proverbial tolerance of the people of Cologne. Then there’s the accessibility by road, rail and in the air, the motorway network, the fast connection to intercontinental flights from Frankfurt, as well as to the airports in Cologne and Düsseldorf in a matter of minutes. A big advantage is also the catchment area, the largest concentra-tion of spending power in the European Union within a radius of one flying hour. Finally, the position of Cologne as a German media metropolis and the position of the region as a creative and know-how hotspot with numerous universities in the areas of technology and the arts.

Gamescom in Cologne: What does it mean when the whole world of interactive games and entertainment gets together in Cologne? Not only in the trade fair business is a lasting impression created out of combination of form and contents or of location and theme. Cathedral and Cologne, photokina and Cologne, Anuga and Cologne and now also gamescom and Cologne – these combinations stick in the mind. On the one hand, we have a metropolis which is ideal for creative, young themes and major events – with an enormous spectrum which extends from World Youth Day to the Gay Games. On the other hand, we have the leading fair of an important sector, in which all the relevant market participants are involved and find the right platform to present themselves in Cologne. Cologne is the world’s best venue to implement the gamescom motto “Celebrate the games”.

What makes the location Cologne interesting for companies in the games business? Among the many good qualities of the city already mentioned here, not least are its exceptional qualities as a media metropolis. They create synergies between the different sectors - be it film, radio, television, IT, games or music. Not least these frame-work conditions have led to well-known media companies settling in Cologne. gamescom will further advance these positive developments. Here again, the mixture is what counts: of festival, games, business and congress.

What associates you personally with Cologne? What do you particularly like about the city? I’m pleased to repeat it: Business and joie de vivre! From a business point of view I measure the advantages of a city in terms of its exhibition centre - and Cologne has one of the most attractive in the world. Cologne’s joie de vivre ensures that I enjoy being here: that is particularly due to the people I meet, whether they come from Ehrenfeld, Munich or Mumbai. As I said: it’s the mixture that counts. And it is never boring in Cologne.

No. 2 / September 2010Business Facts Cologne

Cologne is: Radio and TV capital

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The WDR’s “Archivhaus” and “Vier-Scheiben-Haus”.

The WDR, Continental Europe’s largest public service broadcasting corporation, and RTL, Europe’s highest-selling com-mercial broadcasting company, are both resident in Cologne. By moving from the west of Cologne into the former Rhineside Halls of Koelnmesse, right in the city centre, a move which started in June 2010, RTL has made a long-term commitment to the loca-tion of Cologne. Beside Super RTL, VOX and n-tv, numerous German and foreign digital

special interest channels also enrich the nation-wide programme offer from Cologne. About one-third of the TV min-utes produced in Ger-many come from the Cathedral City. Beside the many nationally and internationally-known companies, the count-less highly innovative and creative smaller players with their prod-

ucts and services also make their contribu-tion to the outstanding reputation of Co-logne as a media metropolis. The Academy of Media Arts and the International Film School Cologne represent the optimal sup-port for young talent. Cologne is also the top address for the IT and telecommunica-tions industry. For example, Adobe, Arx-es, Electronic Arts, Microsoft. Mind-Tree, Pironet NDH, SQS, QSC Unitymedia and Wipro supply top technology.

In FactThe Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum is reopeningThe basis of the Cologne Ethnology Mu-seum are the 3.400 objects of the ethno-graphic collection of Wilhelm Joest. Born in 1852 in Cologne, after graduating as of 1874 he undertook extended expeditions in numerous countries. On his travels he started wide-ranging ethnographic col-lections. After his death, the private col-lection was left to his sister Adele. In 1899, Adele and her husband, Eugen Rauten-strauch, made a gift of the the objects to the city. When Rautenstrauch died a year later, his widow donated the capital for a museum for ethnology on the Ubierring - the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum.

Thanks to an excellent collection stock and pioneering exhibition concepts, the museum is today one of Germany’s leading ethnology museums. As of 23 October, treasures of everyday and fes-tive culture from all parts of the world will be presented in almost three times the exhibition space in its new home on Josef-Haubrich-Hof.

Ibrahim Mazari is press officer of Turtle Entertainment GmbH. As a graduate social scientist, he is responsible for communications of Europe’s largest league for computer games: the Electronic Sports League (ESL). He is the Youth Protection Officer of the ESL and looks after the areas of youth protection and media competence. Turtle Entertainment GmbH, founded in 2000, has 160 employees with offices in Cologne.

As someone born in Cologne with Algerian roots, I see my strengths primarily in the communication and presentation of contents as well as convincing people. In this connection, my feeling for cultural differences and their cautious handling are an advantage – especially for sensitive topics like computer games and media use. I grew up as a gamer myself, but nevertheless I am always impressed by the ambitious performance of the eSports participants. I am therefore delighted to be able to advance a project that is unique in this form worldwide. As a city of diversity and tolerance, Cologne is the ideal setting for our approach!

With best regards,Ibrahim Mazari

The Mayor

Department for Press and Public Relations Office of Economic Development Willy-Brandt-Platz 2 50679 Cologne Telephone: +49 (0)221 221-25765Fax: +49 (0)221 221-26686 e-mail: wirtschaftsfoerderung@stadt-koeln.de

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