Outdoor living is becoming an expression of modern lifestyle and is opening up new opportunities for the trade and industry. spoga+gafa 2025 demonstrated how strongly the significance of the outdoor section is changing and how it will influence the market in future.
After three intensive and successful trade fair days, the leading global trade fair for garden lifestyle & BBQs is drawing a positive balance. With around 26,000 trade visitors from over 100 countries as well as more than 1,600 exhibitors from home and abroad, spoga+gafa confirms its position as the leading platform of the garden industry. The top visitor nations included Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, France, Poland as well as the USA, Australia and Canada. This is a very remarkable result in the light of the economic uncertainty and geopolitical challenges, which can also be evaluated as being a positive signal for the new schedule.
The trade fair focused on key themes that are currently moving the garden industry: the wish for emotional relevance, strategic orientation and market-relevant innovations. "In a year that is currently still characterised by economic restraint, spoga+gafa underlined the key role it plays as an international industry meeting point," stated Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. "This success not only underpins the international relevance of the event, but also stands for a visible transformation that we will consistently shape with spoga+gafa over the coming years. Progress is not possible without change," said Frese summing it up in a nutshell.
New concept for 2026 reinforces sustainability
With a revised concept for 2026, spoga+gafa is ensuring itself a sustainable position close to the market. It is hereby reacting to the frequently expressed expectations of the industry for a clearer structure, stronger target group orientation and a targeted reaction to new leisure time and consumer habits.
New theme world: Own Hall for Outdoor Adventure
The "Outdoor Adventure" section will enhance the established theme sections "Living", "Creation & Care" and "BBQs" with an own hall, from 2026 onwards. Here adventure, activities and outdoor lifestyle will meet product innovation and community building. The idea behind this: The outdoor section will become an experiential area for exercise, balance and adventure. As such spoga+gafa is selectively expanding its target groups to include outdoor distributors, content creators as well as brands, who want to stage the Outdoor Adventure theme emotionally and tell a different story.
New alignment in the furniture section
The outdoor furniture section will be restructured in the course of the concept. Curated exhibition space exclusively for outdoor furniture manufacturers, who convince with sustainable production, short delivery routes and high design quality, will arise in Hall 9. This focus on origin, quality and style not only strengthens the European market, but also creates an unmistakable profile on the international trade fair scene.
Garden Sourcing Hub and Flavour Market provide new accents
Other product sections are also being realigned: For instance, the theme Asia-Sourcing will in future be bundled in an own hall under the name "Garden Sourcing Hub" specifically for international buyers. Furthermore, every two years the "Flavour Market" will create a stronger interlinking in the BBQ Hall between BBQ technology, culinary offers and cross-selling potentials from 2026 onwards.
The next spoga+gafa is scheduled to take place in Cologne from Monday, 22 June to Wednesday, 24 June 2026. This will be the standard schedule in even years in future. In uneven years the trade fair will continue to start on a Tuesday. This flexibility in the schedule guarantees a high international participation, optimal travel planning and the best possible scheduling with regards to rival trade fairs.
Koelnmesse – Global Inspiration for Living, Contract and Public Spaces
Koelnmesse is the world’s top trade fair organiser for the areas of Living, Contract and Public Spaces. Alongside the new trade fair duo imm cologne and interior design days cologne (idd cologne), other formats hosted at the trade fair hub of Cologne such as ORGATEC, interzum, FSB, spoga+gafa and aquanale are among the most internationally renowned and established industry gatherings. These fairs comprehensively represent the interior and design segment, the furniture and interior construction industries' supplying sections, the kitchen world, all topics for the modern working world, garden lifestyle as well as modern work environments, the garden lifestyle, public spaces, sports and leisure facilities, along with saunas, pools and wellness centres. To complement the events in Cologne, Koelnmesse is constantly strategically expanding its portfolio in key growth markets around the globe. Its foreign trade fairs include La Feria De Diseño Medellín - powered by imm cologne in Colombia, the shows of the ORGATEC brand family with ORGATEC TOKYO in Japan, ORGATEC India in Mumbai and ORGATEC WORKSPACE Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, as well as the trade fairs of the interzum brand family: interzum guangzhou in China, interzum bogota in Colombia, interzum jakarta in Indonesia and interzum forum italy in Bergamo. The “Living, Contract and Public Spaces” portfolio also includes the FSB Sports Show Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Further information on all trade fairs from the Living, Contract & Public Spaces portfolio: https://www.spogagafa.com/trade-fair/spoga-gafa/industry-trade-fairs/
