The Geneva Motor Show is closing. Annual car exhibition holds for 119 years

When the Internet replaced print magazines, we endured.

When IT exhibitions began to close, we endured.

But when automobile and game shows also stopped conducting…

The organizers announced the closure of the international Geneva Motor Show, which had a history of more than a century. The reason was a decrease in interest from automakers and a decrease in attendance. In 2025, a sister exhibition will take place in Qatar, continuing the tradition of the Geneva International Motor Show.

The first auto show in Geneva took place in 1905, attracting 17 thousand visitors. After the economic crisis and the First World War, the exhibition resumed in 1923 and reached its peak in 2005 with almost 750 thousand visitors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a four-year hiatus, and when the auto show returned in early 2023, it attracted just 37 exhibitors and 168,000 visitors. For comparison, in 2019 the event was attended by 602 thousand people, and there were 184 participants.

Alexandre de Senarklens, president of the standing committee of the foundation that organizes the car show, called the decision to close “extremely sad.” The organizers asked the cantonal authorities to dissolve the foundation. However, the Qatar version of the exhibition will continue and the next Geneva Qatar International Motor Show will be held in Doha in November 2025.