Photokina (rendered in the promoters' branding as "photokina") is a

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...

held in Europe for the

photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

and

imaging Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's form; especially a visual representation (i.e., the formation of an image). Imaging technology is the application of materials and methods to create, preserve, or duplicate images. ...

industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany, in 1950, and since 1966 it has been held biennially in September at the

Koelnmesse Koelnmesse GmbH (''Cologne Trade Fair'') is an international trade fair and exhibition center located in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With around 80 trade fairs and over 2,000 conferences annually, Koelnmesse is one of the country's ...

Trade Fair and Exhibition Centre in Deutz. The final Photokina under the then-current biennial cycle took place in 2018. Initially, the promoters planned to start a new annual cycle in 2019, with future shows to be held in May, but they later decided not to begin the new annual cycle until 2020. The worldwide outbreak of the Coronavirus disease 2019 and its effect on the imaging industry made Koelnmesse decide to cancel both Photokina 2020 and Photokina 2021. Many photographic and imaging companies introduce and showcase state of the art imaging products at Photokina.

Similar trade shows

The show has two main competitors, both of which are annual shows held in different parts of the world. The CP+ show in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

, Japan, originally the Japan Camera Show, has been held since the early 1960s. In the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the main photography show is PMA@CES, which since 2012 has coincided with the Consumer Electronics Show in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

History

The first Photokina was held in 1950 at the initiative of . U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

sent a greeting

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

marking the opening of Photokina in 1956. * The 2008 show featured 1,579 exhibitors from 46 countries and had over 169,000 visitors from 161 countries. * The 2010 Photokina took place from 21 to 26 September. It featured 1,251 suppliers from 45 countries and had over 180,000 visitors from 160 countries. * The number of visitors still increased to 185,000 from 166 countries for Photokina 2012, which took place from 18 to 23 September 2012 and hosted 1,158 suppliers from 41 countries. The 2014 attendance remained roughly constant, at an estimated 185,000. The 2016 Photokina had about 191,000 visitors. * Photokina 2018 was held in Cologne, Germany from 26 to 29 September 2018. The dates were originally announced as 25–30 September, but the format was shortened as a part of the change to an annual event. *Photokina 2020, the first in the new annual cycle of events, was planned held once again in Cologne, 27–30 May 2020, but was cancelled because of the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease 2019 as well as Photokina 2021. *On November 27, 2020, Koelnmesse announced that Photokina is suspended until further notice.

References

External links

Official Photokina site
Economy of Cologne Festivals in Cologne Trade fairs in Germany Recurring events established in 1950 Tourist attractions in Cologne 1950 establishments in West Germany Biennial events {{business-stub