Messe Frankfurt has begun work on the construction of the German Pavilion for the upcoming Expo Milano 2015, following a ground breaking ceremony at the Expo grounds recently.

The first of the pavilions to begin work at the World Expo site, the German Pavilion is expected to be one of the largest at the global showpiece event and is being constructed by an Italian-German team from Messe Frankfurt GmbH, who have been appointed as organisers by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs.

Speaking at the ground breaking Dietmar Schmitz, Commissioner General for Trade Fair Policies and EXPO Participation at the BMWi said: “It is a great pleasure for me to make the first cut of the spade on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. As of today the German Pavilion will take shape more and more every day.”

The World Expo takes place every five years, and Dubai will host the next event in 2020. The Milan Expo follows previous editions in Hannover (2000), Nagakute (Japan, 2005) and Shanghai (China, 2010).

The theme of the 2015 Expo is “Feeding the planet, energy for life”. According to the organisers, the national pavilions will focus on issues such as food, energy, life and the globe. The World Expo is scheduled to be open for six months, from 1 May to 31 October 2015.

Messe Frankfurt is considered the world’s largest trade fair corporation with its own exhibition grounds. The company has a presence in more than 150 countries around the globe. Over the course of the year, events ‘made by Messe Frankfurt’ take place in more than 30 locations. In 2013 alone, Messe Frankfurt organised a total of 114 trade fairs, of which 71 were held outside Germany, with eight having been held in Dubai.

“Messe Frankfurt being chosen as organiser of the German Pavilion is a great honour and acknowledgement of its years’ of expertise in conducting trade events around the world,” said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Messe Frankfurt’s Middle East subsidiary, Epoc Messe Frankfurt. “With Dubai being our regional headquarters and the venue for the Expo 2020, we are glad to offer all our support and expertise to the authorities in their efforts to organise a truly spectacular event,” he added.

Epoc Messe Frankfurt is one of the leading trade fair and conference organisers in the fast-growing Middle East region with a comprehensive calendar of tightly-focused trade events.