Cersaie sees boom in international attendance

The 30th Cersaie, the international ceramic tile and bathroom furnishing exhibition that came to an end in Bologna on 29 September, reported record figures for international attendance. Of the total attendance of 75,563 (exclusively considering first admissions), 32% consisted of international visitors. While this figure confirms the show's international appeal, it also highlights the stagnation in the Italian market. The total number of visitors actually decreased with respect to 2011 due to the fall in attendance of Italian buyers.

The cultural events in the ‘Building Dwelling Thinking' programme proved extremely popular, particularly the keynote lecture given by Pritzker prize winner Eduardo Souto de Moura which was attended by an audience of more than 1,300 people, ‘Tiling City' - an event that hosted the world tiling champion and several Italian building schools - and ‘Cersaie designs your home', an initiative organised by Edi.Cer. spa in cooperation with around fifteen leading Italian interior design magazines with the aim of offering private consumers free consulting on renovating their homes and choosing materials.

This year's After Show programme featured numerous initiatives, including the official opening of an exhibition of works by Souto de Moura in the National Art Gallery (Pinacoteca) of Bologna and the initiative ‘Bologna Water Design', which featured cultural events such as installations by designers such as Michele de Lucchi and Diego Grandi and attracted large numbers of Cersaie visitors and Bologna residents.

Next year's Cersaie will be held in Bologna from 24 to 28 September 2013.