• 10 – 13 April 2025
  • Exhibition Centre Cologne

2 March 2023

Fitness & Gaming: The Perfect Match

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Approximately every second person in Germany is a gamer - regardless of age and gender. So, when it comes to inspiring the public for a healthy and active lifestyle, it is important to offer this target group of around 34 million people the perfect active supplement to the screen. Thus, FIBO 2023 will increasingly include the topics of eSports and gaming in its programme. With its own Gaming & Activity Area, the trade show offers gamers their own stage to present their sport and a place to meet their community. At the same time, in panel talks and coaching sessions, experts will show how physical and mental fitness can improve overall performance. Because only those who are in top shape in real life can also deliver their A-game in the game.

"Fitness and gaming are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary! The two disciplines inevitably belong together. We are delighted to bring the stakeholders of both industries together at the fair and to show how they can benefit from each other," says Silke Frank, Event Director FIBO.

Fitness for gamers

The cliché of the overweight gamer is passé. Professional eSports players have long recognized: Mental and physical fitness are the key to a top performance. Who could provide better input than the world's largest trade fair for fitness, wellness and health? With strong partners such as Supercrowd, metagame and eSports Cologne, FIBO provides numerous opportunities for networking, education, testing and peeking over the console. In exciting panel talks with performance coach Fabian Broich, among others, amateur and professional gamers will receive instructions for their own workout, how it can be integrated into everyday life, the importance of mental health, the right diet and regeneration. Because holistic training performance has long since moved to the spotlight in ambitious eSports.

Gaming for fitness

But it is not only professional eSport athletes who use training and nutrition methods from the fitness industry. Amateur sportsmen and athletes are also increasingly immersing themselves in the world of gaming. Millions of Germans already use games tkeep physically fit or are at least interested in doing so. That is exactly where FIBO is picking them up this year: major exhibitors such as ExerCube, ICAROS and Lymb.io will be presenting the latest trends and innovations in mixed reality sports. Visitors can try out the hybrid applications of virtual reality, gaming and physical activity and discover them for themselves. At the same time, the industry experts advise studio operators and trainers and provide them with best practices as an inspiration for their own business. After all, no other segment has developed as rapidly in recent years as the eSports and gaming sector. There is potential here for entrepreneurs and studio operators. By integrating gaming elements, they can reach new target groups and retain existing customers in the long term. Especially the young generation has firmly integrated eSports and gaming into their everyday lives.

Gaming & Activity Area

To meet the needs of gamers, athletes, professional e-sportsmen and those who want to become one, FIBO dedicates a separate area to them: the Gaming & Activity Area. Gamers get the perfect stage in Hall 5.2 to showcase their sport and demonstrate their skills. During ingame sessions, visitors can look over the shoulder of their idols or compete with them. Accompanying interviews and talks provide exciting insights from the industry and bring together well-known athletes, artists, content creators and their communities. On Sunday, Inscope21, Marc Eggers, Tim Gabel and Sinanmovez will be on stage to answer questions. Right next to the stage, the area offers visitors the opportunity to get active themselves and try out the latest trends in mixed reality sports or nutrition at exhibitors such as Triebwerk Energy.

About eSports Cologne e.V.

As a mass sports club, eSports Cologne holistically promotes e-sports in the Rhineland. With over 300 active members and 2,000 community members, the association is one of the largest gaming clubs in Germany and offers gamers a broad community.

About FIBO

FIBO pursues the vision of a strong and healthy society and as a global network makes an essential contribution to a long and fulfilling life for people. At the annual FIBO Show, therefore, all players from the fitness, wellness and health sectors come together and form the hot spot for innovations, investments and trends for an active lifestyle. Over the course of four days, FIBO offers here not only business, networking and continuing education at the top level, but also numerous exciting and impressive live experiences. The next FIBO Show will take place in Cologne from April 13-16, 2023.

More info: www.fibo.com

About RX

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Leonie Ophey

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