Some 18,000 delegates from 81 countries met for business at the 21st edition of Mipim this week, slightly up on the 17,658 visitors and 79 countries registered in 2009 when the financial crisis hit real estate markets full force. In a sign of improved industry sentiment, the number of investment companies which attended the fair was up 10% at 1,118 compared with last year.
Some 18,000 delegates from 81 countries met for business at the 21st edition of Mipim this week, slightly up on the 17,658 visitors and 79 countries registered in 2009 when the financial crisis hit real estate markets full force. In a sign of improved industry sentiment, the number of investment companies which attended the fair was up 10% at 1,118 compared with last year.
Cities and regions were also present in large numbers, with some 400 entities attending the fair, Mipim director Nadine Castagna said during the closing press conference on Thursday. London mayor Boris Johnson was one of over 200 top city leaders to attend Mipim, where some 90 mayors met for the second Mayors' Think Tank, devoted to discussions on sustainable urban policies.
‘Cities are a key driving force behind urban development and at Mipim we have representatives from over 400 cities and local authorities, as well as some 200 senior political figures and their numbers grow each year. The presence of cities and their commitment to public-private partnerships makes them an essential part of the real estate and Mipim mix,’ Castagna said.
Among the biggest development projects on show was the Seoul-based Yongsan International Business District, designed by Daniel Libeskind and covering some 570,000m². From Egypt, Rooya Group announced the launch of the new Stone Towers business park, situated on the outskirts of Cairo and conceived by world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid. And an eyecatcher from the Middle East was the EUR 1.8 bn mixed-use Bahrain Bay project, situated on the north-eastern shore of the capital Manama and designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
