The 2024 show ran from 30 January to 3 February and welcomed 57,000 visitors from 125 nations.
Exhibitor numbers were up 10% year-on-year, with 2,354 companies from 68 countries taking part in the show at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre.
Christian Ulrich, spokesperson of the executive board at Spielwarenmesse, noted that China was able to re-establish its high pre-pandemic levels at the show, while central Asia countries, such as Kazakhstan and Ukraine have acquired ‘a dynamism that compensates to some extent for Russia’s absence’.
The USA, which organisers said was showing high potential last year, was among the top 10 countries for visitors in 2024.
Across all five days of the show, small and mid-sized retailers were as heavily represented as the leading retail groups, which included companies such as Amazon, Costco, Muller, Target, Smyths Toys and Walmart.
The topic of Kidults was the overarching theme of this year’s event. Christian commented: “Renowned exhibitors such as Mattel took up the Kidults theme in a big way. And the market figures from market research company Circana also demonstrate that we’ve picked up on the spirit of the age.”
Exhibitors were impressed by the show. 97% (compared to 95% in 2023) considered participation in Nuremberg to be important or very important. Meanwhile 90% of exhibitors said they were satisfied with their participation.
The large number of events taking place during the show underlined its global relevance. The annual Disney Group’s breakfast, as well as that of Circana, have grown from being European to worldwide events.
84% of exhibitors plan to participate again.
The 2025 event will take place from Tuesday 28 January to Saturday 1 February, 2025.
