
Photo: Christian Spahrbier
Hamburg – Gateway to the world of tomorrow
A city for future-oriented and sustainable business events
Anyone who’s been out on the town in Hamburg with Florian, Saskia, and Karin knows that there’s a lot to discover here. As MICE ambassadors for Hamburg and its metropolitan area, we’ll show you hotspots not to be found in any other city. For our latest tour, we’re inviting you on a journey forward through time and show you that Hamburg has not only grandiose event locations and hotels but also strong economic collaborations and cluster.


Photos: www.mediaserver.hamburg.de / DoubleVision
You’d like to know what life will be like in the world of tomorrow? Then come with us on an exploratory journey into the future! It begins right in the middle of Hamburg.

Photo: www.mediaserver.hamburg.de / Marek Santen

Photo: www.mediaserver.hamburg.de / DoubleVision
Photo: www.mediaserver.hamburg.de / DoubleVision
Urban sustainability in the HafenCity

Photo: www.mediaserver.hamburg.de / Geheimtipp-Hamburg
We begin our tour in the place where Hamburg’s innovative capacity is visible at first sight and tangible after only a few steps – in the HafenCity, Europe’s largest urban building and development project.
A hot urban centre, the HafenCity is today already a lively residential and professional hub: Around 3,000 apartments have been built already and more than 730 companies have settled here. At HafenCity University (HCU), degrees have been pursued and research undertaken for around five years.

Photo: Christian Spahrbier
We stroll through a panorama of modern architecture, a lot of light and ever new views of the banks and waterways. Visible from everywhere is the unmistakable silhouette of the Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg’s trailblazing landmark. We will be accompanied by André Stark, press spokesman of HafenCity GmbH, who will give us an exclusive insight into the life of Hamburg’s new urban district.

Photo: Christian Spahrbier
A model of the current status of the project over its entire area gives a taste of the breath-taking dimensions of this new city space that is taking shape along the former harbour areas of the Elbe, all at a scale of 1:500. It can be inspected in person at the Kesselhaus or “boiler house”, a brick building from the 19th century that once served as the power centre of the historical Speicherstadt warehouse district. Today, visitors of the HafenCity are welcomed there with up-to-date information, rotating special exhibitions and a café.

Photo: Christian Spahrbier
The heart of the HafenCity beats in the Überseequartier.



Photos: Christian Spahrbier
Spectacular architecture, unique shopping experiences and a cosmopolitan flair that reflects Hamburg’s maritime heritage: The exceptional character of the Überseequartier is already evident today. We’d like to know more about the future of this thriving neighbourhood and visit the Überseequartier InfoPavilion. In photos, visualisations and models, we experience what a diverse array awaits those who will live, work, and spend their free time here.
Innovation in the HafenCity stands for sustainability.


Photos: Christian Spahrbier
And we’re excited about it! We make our way to Osaka 9, the Sustainability Pavilion, where ecological city development is presented in a way you don’t see every day. A spatial sculpture made of creatively recycled loading pallets brings to mind memories of the earlier port industry, forming an original, multimedia framework for communicating information on topics such as construction and energy, efficient use of land as well as sustainable city structures and mobility.



Photos: Christian Spahrbier
All this has already become a reality in the HafenCity.
Photo: www.mediaserver.hamburg.de / Timo Sommer
We breathe in a bit more sea breeze at the Baakenpark, an artificial peninsula that forms the green centrepiece of the eastern HafenCity. “Big city atmosphere and high quality of life are not opposing categories in Hamburg. This sports and leisure park on the water is a great example of that,” remarks Sarah, whose work at the HCB focuses on the acquisition of association events.
Maritime, innovative, ecological, and chock-full of cool locations – that’s the HafenCity. Who could imagine a better place for green meetings?

Photo: Christian Spahrbier
The ZAL – Laboratory for modern aeronautics
We lift off from the water into the air and land in Hamburg’s aerospace Silicon Valley. Here, we can indulge our fascination for all things aerial.
The ZAL, Hamburg’s Center of Applied Aeronautical Research, where industry and the sciences collaborate closely, is one of the most cutting-edge research centres for civil aviation in the world. On 26,000 square metres, around 600 engineers are at work on the future of flight.


Photos: Christian Spahrbier
“Hamburg is the third-largest hub for civil aviation in the world, and the ZAL is making the hanseatic city ready for takeoff for the 21st century. Here, an array of technical expertise and high-tech equipment gives rise to new synergies,” explains Frank, who supervises the sector cluster on logistics, maritime industries, and aviation at the HCB.

Photo: Christian Spahrbier
Digital fitness at the Health Innovation Port
Photos: Christian Spahrbier
The Health Innovation Port (HIP) brings startups into contact with established actors from the world of health care. Supported by a cooperation among industry, health insurance funds, hospitals, the public sector and the sciences, this collaboration space offers founders a unique mix of coworking community, incubator, and mentoring platform.


Photos: Christian Spahrbier
After we’ve checked out the flexible working spaces, the pitch area and the in-house maker’s lab with a 3D printer together with the Community Manager at HIP Katja Bergholter, we take a break on the sofa, acutely conscious of how much health has to do with a sense of wellbeing. “The atmosphere in the HIP is ideal for innovative minds that want to develop their visions and concepts quickly and with an orientation towards practice,” observes Karine, the HCB point person for cooperations with the industry clusters of medicine, healthcare and the life sciences.
The thematic diversity of the circa 20 startups that are currently active at the HIP is large, reaching from artificial intelligence through virtual reality all the way to big data. That’s what we call healthy prospects for the future!


Photos: Christian Spahrbier