October 17, 2022
Light + Building 2022: By the Numbers
Photo credit: Messe Frankfurt GmbH / Pietro Sutera
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Attendance dips 58%, but attendees who braced for a smaller show seemed generally satisfied
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Only a handful of U.S.-based luminaire and controls manufacturers exhibit
The world’s largest lighting industry trade show, Light + Building, took place in Frankfurt, Germany from October 2-6, 2022 – the first Light + Building event since March 2018. Ongoing pandemic concerns and Covid Omicron variants caused event organizers to postpone the March 2022 edition by several months and billed the early October version as the Autumn Edition.
In the ongoing finicky business climate for trade shows, the general expectation leading up to the event was that this year’s Light + Building would be less spectacular than past events that drew over 200,000 people and over 2,000 exhibitors. Some big-name exhibitors pulled out. Many of the well-attended and legendary parties were not happening. But still, tens of thousands of lighting people made their way to Messe Frankfurt for a toned-down version of Light + Building that still seemed to satisfy many attendees and even delight some.
After a slow start on the show’s first day, Sunday, reports indicate that the event floor buzzed with increased activity Monday through Wednesday before slowing down again on the final event day, Thursday. Some attendees noted that the trade show, which used to take three days to experience and walk through numerous exhibit halls, could be compressed into 1 ½ to 2 days.
Numerous large European "regulars" sat out the 2022 Autumn Edition including Signify, Zumtobel, iGuzzini, Louis Poulsen, We-ef, LED Linear, XAL, FLOS, Osram and Reggiani. Many of those exhibitors utilized hundreds of square meters of exhibit space in past exhibitions.
Show organizers recently revealed some of the statistics for the Light + Building 2022 event. Below is a breakdown and a comparison to the 2018 report from pre-pandemic Light + Building.
The bi-annual Light + Building event will return to Frankfurt March 3-8, 2024 – two weeks before LEDucation occurs in New York City.
45% of attendees to this year's event were from Germany – down slightly from 48% in 2018.
Top Countries of Origin: Exhibitors
| Germany | 423 |
| Italy | 178 |
| China | 120 |
| Turkey | 102 |
| Poland | 63 |
| Spain | 59 |
| Hong Kong | 54 |
| Netherlands | 46 |
| South Korea | 37 |
| Great Britain | 35 |
The top ten countries of origin cited above represent 1117 exhibitors or approximately 73% of all exhibitors.
Many Light + Building 2022 exhibitors were European companies that are also familiar names in U.S markets including:
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LEDVANCE (Germany)
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BEGA (Germany)
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Casambi (Finland)
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Valmont (Netherlands)
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Acclaim Lighting (Netherlands)
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ABB (Germany)
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Ragni (France)
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Graypants (Netherlands)
North America Exhibitor Count
| United States | 26 |
| Canada | 1 |
| Mexico | 0 |
The sole Canadian exhibitor was JDRF Electromag Engineering, a maker of smart lighting devices.
The tally of 26 U.S.-based exhibitors included:
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Just three pure-play makers of luminaires or lighting controls: Bold Lighting (Atlanta), Lumos Controls (California) and Red Sky Lighting (Wisconsin).
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Numerous organizations and consortiums including the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), DALI Alliance, Zhaga Consortium, EnOcean Alliance and Z-Wave Alliance.
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Many components makers including Bridgelux and Kyocera SLD Laser.
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Accessories makers including ABLE Power Products, Klein Tools and Molex.
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Software companies including the makers of Photopia, LightTools and TracePro.
