General rules on accrediting at Messe Essen trade fairs
As trade fair organisers we aim to facilitate access to information on our events and our company by providing accreditation to journalists. Accreditation is granted solely for the purpose of enabling journalistic coverage.
The following persons are entitled to media accreditation:
Persons from Germany or abroad who can prove their journalistic (including photojournalistic) or editorial activities (related to the respective trade fair topic) as follows:
- a. by submitting authored articles or contributions (print, online, TV, radio) on the trade fair theme that are no more than six months old at the time of the event,
- b. by submitting an imprint in which they are named as editors, permanent editorial staff or au-thors, and which is not older than three months at the time of the event,
- c. by submitting a written order from a full editorial team in the original with reference to the cur-rent trade fair,
- d. Content creators for a social media channel, podcast, B(V)log or streaming platform that is thematically related to the respective trade fair. The respective media have to be existing for at least six months, must have regular entries and an appropriate reach. The reach must be proven by key figures such as page impressions, unique visitors or dwell time. In these cases, prior ac-creditation is required due to the increased verification effort. The person to be accredited must be verifiable in this medium with an online link, either by naming them in the imprint or by posting their name. The contributions must be proven to have been written personally with a thematic ref-erence to the trade fair. A limited number of people will be accredited per channel or platform. The organisers may impose further restrictions in individual cases.
- e. by presenting proof not older than six months that they have been working for school or uni-versity newspapers , or by presenting a valid ID card from a youth press organisation.
- f. Holders of a valid national press card (https://www.presserat.de/presseausweis.html) or a press card issued by a foreign journalists' organisation.
As a rule, presentation of a press card is not the sole basis for accreditation. The trade fair organiser reserves the right to request further proof of journalistic activity in accordance with points a - f above.
The credentials should be submitted in German or English. The trade fair organiser reserves the right to additionally request the presentation of a valid identity document with a photograph. There is no right to accreditation. If necessary, the trade fair organiser will make use of its domestic authority.
The following groups of persons will not be accredited:
- Persons without journalistic credentials, such as account managers, sales managers, advertising managers, webmasters, employees of corporate blogs or corporate websites, PR consultants, product testers and private accompanying persons.
- Germans resident in Germany who present a foreign press card.
- Persons who present a written order from a freelance journalist.
- Persons who are only privately active on social networks.
- Persons who wish to use trade fairs solely for acquisition purposes for their own fee-based radio, TV, image or online productions.
Status: May 2025
