Opening of the first BEA in the Neue Festhalle

On Friday, the Bern Spring Fair BEA opened with «much pomp and celebrity» (Radio SRF). For the first time, it will take place in the Neue Festhalle, which HRS recently handed over to the client Messepark AG. While exhibition stands were already set up in the large Festhalle, which offers space for up to 9,000 people, around 900 guests from the worlds of politics, business and culture attended the opening ceremony in the smaller of the two halls, the Cube. «If you don't invest, you've already lost,» said Federal Councillor Albert Rösti, one of the guests of honor, in his speech, drawing parallels between Bernexpo and Switzerland, which also needs to invest in its infrastructure.

The new Festhalle has replaced the temporary hall built three quarters of a century ago on the BERNEXPO site, which had reached the end of its life cycle. The new Festhalle will enable congresses, symposia, trade fairs, cultural events, shows, sporting events, musicals, television broadcasts and other gatherings to be held. The multi-purpose platform secures the position of the city, canton and region of Bern as a nationally significant event location.

HRS is the total contractor and a co-investor in the owner, Messepark Bern AG.

From left to right:
Janine Gerber, Project Management Assistant - HRS
Hans-Peter Burkhalter, Project Manager - HRS
Matthias Biedermann, Site Manager - HRS
Marco Gallo, Site Manager - HRS
Leandra Bay, Site Manager - HRS
Isabelle Kummer-Rutschi, Project Manager - HRS
Daniel Neuenschwander, Branch Manager Gümligen site and Overall Project Manager - HRS
Sandro Schöbi, Project Manager - HRS