The HCM team were busy at the recent FIBO Global Fitness event in Cologne, Germany, distributing a special FIBO edition of HCM in support of the event as its global media partner.

FIBO 2024 boasted over 1,000 exhibitors and is expected to have welcome 120,000 visitors – a post-pandemic record.

The energy in the show was palpable for the first time since COVID brought the industry to a halt, with a record number of seminars, launches, events, parties and networking events taking place.

Here we report on some of the key happenings from FIBO 2024:

European Health and Fitness Forum

On Wednesday (10 April) EuropeActive and FIBO, partnered to present the 11th annual European Health & Fitness Forum (EHFF), attracting 600 industry representatives and stakeholders. AI, digitisation and ESG were among the topics discussed.

Speakers at the EHFF included Go fit CEO, Mario Barbosa; Eric Falardeau and Jop Gerritsen from McKinsey & Company and Oliver Patrick, who gave a keynote about the proactive role of fitness in preventive health and longevity.

Karsten Hollasch of Deloitte and Herman Rutgers presented Deloitte's annual European Health and Fitness Market Report 2024, showing that in 2023, memberships were up 7.5 per cent on 2022 to a record 68 million, while revenues grew 14 per cent to reach €32 billion and the number of clubs increased 14 per cent to 65,000.

Rutgers said EuropeActive's longstanding goal of reaching 100 million members by 2030 is back on track, following the pandemic dips.

Deloitte also carried out a swathe of consumer research, talking to 10,000 adults in 19 European countries. They found the greatest proportion of gym-goers are millennials at 31 per cent, with Gen Z at 16 per cent.

Hollasch said, 61 per cent of the sample exercise at least once a week – either in their health club or at home – and 97 per cent exercise outdoors on a regular basis. Deloitte found walking and cycling were the top activities.

This year’s EHFF book, Future Proofing Your Business through Strategic Management was announced in a presentation by Technogym founder and president, Nerio Alessandri, BlackBox Publishers CEO Kelby Jongen and Herman Rutgers.

Industry awards

Alessandri was also awarded the 2024 Rainer Schaller Entrepreneurship Award, for his entrepreneurial spirit and innovative contributions to the European fitness and physical activity industry.

The EuropeActive Active Citizenship Award 2024 was presented to Sarah Roberts, from Places Leisure, for her dedication over the past year to fostering civic spirit, social responsibility and a commitment to environmental protection and inclusivity in fitness.

EuropeActive news updateEuropeActive welcomed its incoming CEO, Kai Troll at its 23rd Annual General Assembly in Cologne.

The meeting was held alongside the FIBO exhibition, with members from all over Europe in attendance.

Troll will formally take over as CEO from 1 May, leading EuropeActive into its next phase.

President, David Stalker, said: “Over the next 12 months, EuropeActive, with the leadership of Kai Troll, will be focused on its strategy for 2030, which will be presented at the General Assembly in April 2025.”

Outgoing CEO, Andreas Paulsen said: “Kai has an unparalleled track record in association management and strategy and his skills, contacts and insight will enable EuropeActive to consolidate and expand the momentum built over the past four years".

Paulsen reported a productive year for the association, with four events, a significant number of members and partners onboarded and 'the best financial results in [the organisation's] history', thanks to initiatives launched under its manifesto.

At the meeting, John Treharne (The Gym Group) and Jana Havrdova (Czech Chamber of Fitness) were re-elected to the board of directors and Katarina Andersson (STC, Sweden) and Nathalie Schwartz (Orangetheory, France) were elected as new board members.