MIPIM celebrates its 27th year in 2016; how has the event evolved over the years and what can we expect from this year’s event?
MIPIM was created in 1990 and at that time, it was a very innovative idea to launch a trade fair based on the globalisation of real estate investment. Back then, the property industry was still very local with few international investors but MIPIM has evolved greatly over the past few years to become the largest annual gathering for real estate professionals worldwide.
Our ambition is to keep MIPIM at the forefront of future trends by providing high-standard content. Since the 2008 downturn, the property sector has been turned on its head. Real estate professionals attending MIPIM today are looking for accurate information on the market. MIPIM focuses on meeting this demand by further strengthening content through a robust conference programme with key speakers across the real-estate spectrum, as well as organising matchmaking/networking events to bring together participants sharing the same interests.
The breadth and depth of content is really going to standout at MIPIM this year. Since last year, we are putting under the spotlights a specific theme. In 2015, it was the digital revolution and this year, we have decided to open up the discussion on housing by announcing Housing the World as MIPIM’s overriding theme. It will be treated from a variety of different angles so that all participants will go away from MIPIM 2016 with a more profound knowledge of the subject. There will also be dedicated conference sessions on the subjects of technology, tourism, logistics, architecture, healthcare, retail, climate change etc all under the real-estate umbrella.
Which markets will be the ones to watch in 2016 and why?
The whole value chain of real-estate is attending MIPIM and each population comes with its own specific requirements. We are aiming to provide a more tailor-made offer for all MIPIM participants to meet the needs of each segment of the real estate market. A few years ago, we launched in the exhibition area dedicated pavilions to sectors such as hotel & tourism, logistics and healthcare. We are also paying closer attention to the geographical layout of the stands to ease circulation and networking opportunities of participants.
Therefore, more than geographical markets to watch, we are currently reflecting on trends that are emerging in the real estate market and that could be highlighted at MIPIM in the coming years. These trends includes the shift of the property sector from a goods-centric to a service-centric market, how the real estate industry can fight global warming or the new deal in real estate investment at a global level.
Finally, the MIPIM brand is fast becoming a global one- we now have MIPIM events in the UK, Japan and Hong Kong. These events are tailored to meet local issues but they also help enlarge the global MIPIM network and attract new real estate players in Cannes.
You have had some phenomenal speakers at MIPIM since the events inception; who would you love to see taking the stage in the future and why?
The official MIPIM conference programme gives voice to more than 350 speakers and our aim is to showcase high-profile professionals who can give the participants an accurate insight on the different topics covered at MIPIM. I particularly appreciate, like a lot of MIPIM participants, to have the mayor of London Boris Johnson as a keynote speaker as his speeches are always powerful and witty. I was also very impressed by the keynote speeches of Zaha Hadid at MIPIM UK and of Ronnie Chan at MIPIM Asia.
The full version of Julien Sausset's interview will be available in Europe Real Estate 2016, launching in March at MIPIM. For your copy please visit our webshop from 15 March 2016.
About MIPIM
MIPIM, the world’s leading property market, brings together the most influential players from all international property sectors - office, residential, retail, healthcare, sport, logistics and industrial, offering unrivalled access to the greatest number of development projects and sources of capital worldwide. The 27th edition will be held in Cannes, France from 15-18 March 2016.
