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ProWein started on Sunday, 19 March, with around 6,000 exhibitors from 61 countries. The majority come from Italy (1,471), France (946) and Germany (726). Among the exhibitors this time there are also many from Eastern Europe: 14 from Poland, four from the Czech Republic, two from Slovakia, 28 from Georgia and twelve from Ukraine. In addition, several wineries from Norway, Sweden and Denmark will be pouring. Overseas wineries are also represented again: 33 from New Zealand, 24 from Japan and 177 from the USA.
For the first regular ProWein after the Corona pandemic, however, many exhibitors have decided not to participate. In 2019, there were still just under 7,000 - and thus around 17 per cent more than in 2023. Smaller wineries in particular decided against having a stand at the fair for cost reasons. Many vintners consider it positive that many traders from Asia have come again. Messe Düsseldorf expects about 50,000 visitors until Tuesday evening, which is about 11,000 less than in 2019.
However, public transport strikes are making it difficult for participants to travel to and from the fair. On Monday, 20 March and Tuesday, 21 March, neither buses nor trams will be running in Düsseldorf or neighbouring cities. Messe Düsseldorf has set up a bus shuttle service from the main railway station and the airport, which will run between 7.30 am and 8 pm. However, the strike also led to long traffic jams in Düsseldorf city centre in the morning rush hour. Those who wanted to change to a taxi had to expect long queues and waiting times. There were already travel problems in the run-up to the fair: The 24-hour strike of flight safety workers at Düsseldorf Airport from Friday to Saturday had led to considerable flight cancellations. Many exhibitors therefore had to put up with inconvenient connections.
(ru / Source: ProWein; WDR)