RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, formerly Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre or simply RAI Amsterdam (Dutch pronunciation: ,

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

for ''Rijwiel en Automobiel Industrie''), is a complex of

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

and exhibition halls in the

Zuidas The Zuidas (literally ''South Axis'' in Dutch) is a rapidly developing business district in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Zuidas is also known as the 'Financial Mile'. It lies between the rivers Amstel and ''Schinkel'' along the ...

business district of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Netherlands. Opened in 1961, the RAI welcomed its 75 millionth visitor in February 2001. Up to 2 million people visit the RAI every year. Some 50 international conferences and 70 trade shows are held at the RAI annually. The complex consists of 22 conference rooms and 11 multi-functional halls and has a total floor space of 112,200 m². The largest and oldest hall, ''Europahal RAI'', has capacity for 12,900 people. The complex also includes a musical and concert theatre and underground parking space for over 4,000 cars. The convention centre gives its name to the nearby Amsterdam RAI railway station.

History

The origins of the RAI complex can be traced back to 1893, when the trade association RI (''Rijwiel-Industrie'', Dutch for "Bicycle Industry") was founded by several bicycle manufacturers. The first bicycle trade show of the RI was held in 1895 at the

Paleis voor Volksvlijt The Paleis voor Volksvlijt (Palace of Industry) was a large exhibition hall in Amsterdam, located on the Frederiksplein, near the current location of De Nederlandsche Bank. The building was constructed between 1859 and 1864. It was designed by ...

("Palace of Industry") building in Amsterdam. In 1900, the RI changed its name to RAI (''Rijwiel en Automobiel Industrie'') because many of its members had started manufacturing automobiles in addition to bicycles. In 1922, the RAI occupied an exhibition hall of its own on the

Ferdinand Bolstraat The Ferdinand Bolstraat is a street in Amsterdam, named after the artist Ferdinand Bol in 1872. Description The Ferdinand Bolstraat has traditionally been, and continues to be, primarily a shopping street. It is a major artery of the neighbo ...

in Amsterdam. This building, the "old RAI", was demolished in 1975 and replaced by the current building complex on Europaplein square, which was opened by

Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen Juliana. They had four daughters to ...

on February 2, 1961. Vesthallen was completed in 1963, and a separate conference center followed in 1965. Since then, the center has continued to grow with several new halls and meeting rooms. The RAI completed the construction of a 47 metres tall expansion named ''Elicium'' in 2009, serving as Europe’s largest conference center. A multi-purpose building, ''Amtrium'', opened in 2015, and an underground car park followed in 2016. In January 2020, the center's first hotel was opened. ''Europahal RAI'' was declared a ''

Rijksmonument A (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands had 61,822 l ...

'' in 2015 together with the advertising pillar in front of it. The RAI trade association still owns 75% of the complex, with the remainder in the hands of the municipality of Amsterdam.

Events

Trade shows and other events held annually at the RAI include: *

KunstRAI KunstRAI is an annual art exhibition, art fair for modern and contemporary art held in spring or early summer at the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre, RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. From 2006 to 2011 it ...

, an art fair *

AutoRAI The Amsterdam International Motor Show or AutoRAI was a motor show that took place every two years in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The history of the AutoRAI goes back to 1893, when the association of Bicycle Industry (RI) was established. The first bi ...

, an automobile trade show (until 2015) *

HISWA The voluntary association HISWA is an industry trade group for the Netherlands water sports business. HISWA is famous for a twice-yearly organized consumer trade show for the water sports public. Since 1933 these trade shows have been held at the ...

, a boating and watersports trade show * Horecava, a trade fair for the hospitality industry *

Horti Fair The International Horti Fair was an annual horticulture trade fair in the Netherlands. History The Horti Fair was a consolidated continuation of the Dutch NTV International Horticulture Trade Fair (since 1972) and the International Flower Trade Sho ...

, a trade show for the horticultural industry *

International Broadcasting Convention International Broadcasting Convention, more commonly known by its initials IBC, is an annual trade show, held in September at the RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. IBC's tagline is "By the industry. For the ...

, an annual trade show for broadcasters *

Jumping Amsterdam Jumping Amsterdam is an international horse show held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The show is held every year in January and one of the biggest international equestrian indoor events in The Netherlands. Jumping Amsterdam takes place at the RAI Am ...

, an equestrian sporting event * LXRY Masters (previously Miljonair Fair), a trade fair aimed at the very wealthiest In addition, the 1969

Grand Gala du Disque The Grand Gala du Disque was an annual Dutch gala sponsored by local record companies. There were two separate events, the Grand Gala du Disque Classique for classical music and the Grand Gala du Disque Populaire for popular music. The Grand Gala d ...

and 1970 Eurovision Song Contest were held at the RAI.

In media

Parts of the film ''

Trafic ''Trafic'' (''Traffic'') is a 1971 comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. ''Trafic'' was the last film to feature Tati's famous character of Monsieur Hulot, and followed the vein of earlier Tati films that lampooned modern society. Tati's use o ...

'' (1971) by

Jacques Tati Jacques Tati (; born Jacques Tatischeff, ; 9 October 1907 – 5 November 1982) was a French mime, filmmaker, actor and screenwriter. In an ''Entertainment Weekly'' poll of the Greatest Movie Directors, he was voted 46th (a list of the top 50 was ...

were shot at the RAI during the 1970 car show.

Gallery

Europaplein, szemben a RAI Kiállítási és Kongressszusi Központ. Fortepan 93526.jpg, The convention centre in the 1970s Overzicht gedeelte voorgevel - Amsterdam - 20356998 - RCE.jpg, Europahal RAI in April 2002 Europaplein, RAI, Amsterdam pic3.jpg, The ''Amtrium'' building in June 2016

References

External links