Frankfurt delivers a landmark week for Sibos 2025

In 2025, Frankfurt am Main hosted the largest ever in-person Sibos gathering, welcoming more than 12,500 registered participants from 168 countries to Messe Frankfurt from 29 September to 2 October. Organised by Swift, Sibos is the annual conference, exhibition and networking event for the global financial industry, bringing together leaders from banking, payments, technology, fintech, central banks and market infrastructure.

Held under the theme "The Next Frontiers of Global Finance", Sibos 2025 featured more than 700 speakers, 280+ sessions and 200+ exhibitors, with a strong focus on innovation, digital currencies, payments, interoperability, ESG and compliance.

As an IAPCO Convention Centre Partner, Messe Frankfurt plays an important role in IAPCO's global ecosystem, connecting professional congress organisers with flexible, accessible and high-performing venue infrastructure that supports the evolving needs of international associations.

Sibos 2025 is a powerful example of how a leading convention centre, destination partners and event organisers can work together to deliver an event that is operationally complex, globally significant and locally impactful.

For Frankfurt and Messe Frankfurt, the event was more than a major international congress. It was a landmark demonstration of how a destination can position itself early, collaborate deeply and convert a global opportunity into measurable economic, social, cultural and reputational impact. The journey to Frankfurt began more than a decade before the event, reflecting the long-term relationship building, persistence and strategic alignment required to secure major rotating congresses.

Sibos occupied Messe Frankfurt's eastern exhibition grounds, including the Congress Center, Forum, Hall 1 and Hall 3, integrating conference, exhibition and networking across a connected venue environment. Supported by the Frankfurt Convention Bureau, IAPCO destination partner, and the wider city network, the event experience extended from airport arrival to public transport, hotels, city activations, evening receptions and post-event community outcomes.

Challenges
Delivering Sibos 2025 required a highly coordinated response to the scale, profile and expectations of one of the world's most significant financial services events.

• Global scale and complexity: More than 12,500 participants, 700+ speakers and 200+ exhibitors needed to move efficiently through a multi-hall venue environment while accessing conference sessions, exhibition areas, networking lounges, catering spaces, receptions and transport connections.

• Long-term destination positioning: Securing Sibos for Frankfurt was not a short-term win. The opportunity required sustained engagement, relationship continuity and a clear demonstration that Frankfurt could meet the operational, security, sustainability and delegate experience requirements of a globally rotating event.

• Convention centre and destination alignment: As a major international event, Sibos required more than venue capacity. The event needed a host destination with strong infrastructure, local insight, city-wide support and the ability to work closely with the organiser across planning, delivery and legacy outcomes.

• Security and risk management: With senior executives, high-profile speakers and representatives from over 200 international banks in attendance, the event required a robust, multi-layered security approach across the venue and event footprint.

• Destination-wide coordination: The participant experience needed to begin at the airport and continue through hotels, public transport, venue arrival, city information, evening receptions and dedicated shuttle movements.

• Seamless registration and access: Registration is often a bottleneck at events of this scale. Sibos required a fast, secure and coordinated arrival process without compromising safety or delegate comfort.

• Sustainability expectations: Sibos' ESG strategy is anchored in protecting the environment, caring for the community and promoting inclusion. The event needed to demonstrate practical sustainability outcomes across transport, energy, materials, catering, staffing and community contribution.

• Balancing global business with local character: Frankfurt needed to deliver a highly professional, international experience while creating a sense of place through local hospitality, city activations, food, culture and networking moments.

Solutions
Messe Frankfurt, Swift and the Frankfurt Convention Bureau worked in close partnership to design and deliver an event that was secure, connected, sustainable and distinctly Frankfurt.

• Strategic partner ecosystem: Through its role as an IAPCO Convention Centre Partner, Messe Frankfurt maintains ongoing exchange with the international PCO community, gaining operational insight into evolving congress needs while contributing the venue perspective to global meetings discussions. This wider partner mindset underpinned Messe Frankfurt's approach to Sibos, where the venue, destination and organiser worked as aligned partners rather than separate service providers.

• Destination advocacy: Frankfurt's position as one of Europe's leading financial centres, combined with its outstanding international connectivity and concentration of major financial institutions, made it a natural home for Sibos. Strong advocacy from Frankfurt-based organisations including Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Börse and Commerzbank, together with the coordinated support of Messe Frankfurt, the Frankfurt Convention Bureau and the wider destination network, created a compelling case for the city and demonstrated the power of unified destination collaboration.

• Long-term destination collaboration: The journey to Sibos Frankfurt began in 2009, when an initial meeting between Swift and Messe Frankfurt sparked the first discussion about hosting the event. Although scheduling conflicts delayed progress, the relationship remained active. Detailed bid discussions resumed in 2018-2019, a major site inspection took place in 2020 just before the pandemic lockdown, and planning resumed after lockdown before the official announcement in 2023. This sustained approach positioned Frankfurt to secure the opportunity when the timing was right.

• Integrated venue design: Sibos occupied the Congress Center, Forum, Hall 1 and Hall 3, all connected via Messe Frankfurt's Via Mobile moving walkway system. This provided weather-protected, barrier-free access and supported efficient delegate movement across conference, exhibition, catering and networking areas.

• Multiple access points and registration flow: Three independent entrances - City, Congress Center and South - supported fast, secure access for more than 12,000 attendees. Registration was located in Hall 1.1, providing more than 8,000 square metres of dedicated space for coordinated arrivals.

• Digital orientation and event atmosphere: Six LED walls and 47 digital screens supported wayfinding and communication across the venue. Creative activations, including the Evolving Canvas in the Via Mobile, the Frankfurt Selfie Point in the Food Hall and Frankfurt Postcard Stations, added interactivity and local personality.

• City-wide welcome and mobility: 164 airport screens greeted participants across both terminals. The Congress Travel Pass, provided by the Frankfurt Convention Bureau, gave registered delegates free access to local public transport, supported by Frankfurt's 15-minute airport-to-city train connection and more than 12,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of Messe Frankfurt.

• Accommodation and local partner support: The Frankfurt Hotel Alliance supported the housing agency during the booking process, while the Counter of the Frankfurt Tourism Board in Hall 3 provided city information and complimentary express hop-on hop-off tour vouchers. Dedicated shuttles from the Agora plaza connected participants to evening events and receptions across the city.

• Catering and delegate comfort: Accente Catering & Hospitality delivered a varied food and beverage experience, including a three-course seated menu for 500 guests, international food court, healthy snack stops, infused water, outdoor food trucks, local specialities and 50% plant-based menu options. Relaxation areas with beanbags, sofas and swings supported informal breaks and networking.

• Sustainable delivery: Messe Frankfurt and its partners supported paper-free operations, 100% green electricity, free public transport, compact venue planning, local recruitment, material reuse and recycling. Ongoing exchange between the Sibos and Messe Frankfurt sustainability teams helped embed ESG measures throughout planning and delivery.

• Community contribution: At the close of the event, reusable stand items such as furniture, plants, books and carpets were collected and donated, including through Children for a Better World e.V., a local charity supported by Messe Frankfurt since 2010.

• Multi-layered security: Messe Frankfurt provided the full security staff and activated its Operational Security Center, bringing together corporate and event security, police, fire brigade, the German Red Cross and other security services. This supported a closed security area throughout the event.

Outcomes
Sibos 2025 delivered outstanding results for Swift, Messe Frankfurt, the host city with its convention Bureau and the global financial services community.

• Record participation: Sibos 2025 welcomed 12,500+ registered participants from 168 countries, making it the largest ever in-person Sibos gathering.

• Conference and industry engagement: The programme featured 700+ speakers, 280+ sessions and 200+ exhibitors, with a strong focus on innovation, digital currencies, payments, interoperability, ESG and compliance. The event also welcomed 1,600 Innotribe Quest participants.

• Seamless venue performance: Delegates experienced fast registration, secure access, clear wayfinding, connected halls, rooftop terraces, natural light, networking spaces and integrated exhibition areas across Messe Frankfurt's eastern exhibition grounds.

• Sustainable outcomes: 80% of show waste was recycled and 55% of exhibition and conference materials were repurposed or donated. The event was powered by green electricity, supported by low-emission mobility through free public transport, and delivered with 50% plant-based food in restaurants.

• Community and legacy impact: Sibos supported Children for a Better World e.V. and contributed reusable event materials at the end of the show. The event also invited 80 students from German educational institutions to gain insights into the finance and technology sectors, while local charity partners benefitted from the wider Sibos community programme.

• Destination impact: Frankfurt demonstrated its capacity to host a complex, high-security, globally significant business event through strong venue capability, excellent international access, walkable accommodation, public transport integration and coordinated city-wide support.

• Value for the IAPCO ecosystem: The event highlighted the importance of strong relationships between convention centres, destination stakeholders, organisers and the professional congress organising community. Messe Frankfurt's role as an IAPCO Convention Centre Partner reinforces how trusted venue partnerships can support better event outcomes for associations and global organisers.

• A model for destination leadership: Sibos 2025 showed how destinations that engage early and work collaboratively with expert partners can secure major opportunities and translate them into long-term economic, social, cultural and reputational value.

Sibos 2025 showed that world-leading events do not happen in isolation. They are secured and delivered through sustained destination strategy, trusted partnerships and the ability to align venue, city, transport, accommodation, security, sustainability and visitor experience around a shared goal.

For Frankfurt, the event delivered more than a record-breaking week. It reinforced the city's position as a global financial and business events destination and demonstrated how major conferences can generate lasting value for destinations that are ready to engage early, collaborate deeply and deliver with confidence.

For destination leaders and policymakers, the event demonstrated the value of investing in long-term relationships, infrastructure and local collaboration to secure major international events and translate them into economic, social and reputational outcomes.