Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Join GenevaLunch for highlights from the 39th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, under the patronage of the Swiss government, the State, and the City of Geneva, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Discover a selection of the 765 exhibitors displaying their newest and greatest ideas from 4 to 10 April, before heading over there yourself.
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- exhibitors from 45 countries, 18% of them independent inventors and researchers, 82% inventors from companies, research institutes and universities
- 48% of the inventions shown are from Europe, 47% from Asia and the Middle East and 5% from other continents
- a thousand completely new innovations to discover in an exhibition area of 8,500m2
- by order of size of their presence, the countries the best represented this year are: China, Iran, Russia, Romania, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, France, Croatia, Moldova, Syria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Korea, Italy and Kuweit
- categories with the greatest number of inventions: protection of the environment, medicine and health care, mechanics, electronics and computer sciences, construction and civil engineering, security, methods of transport, practical novelties, agriculture and gardening, sports and leisure, domestic science, sanitation, games and toys, and furnishing.
- 60,000 visitors expected of whom 55% are industrialists, distributors and businessmen coming from all over the world to find inventions and new products to market.
Exhibition rules stipulate that an invention may be exhibited in Geneva only once and must be protected by intellectual property rights.
The 2010 exhibition resulted in licences negotiated for a total of more than $40million.
"The girls" are a long tradition that adds glamour to the Geneva Motor Show
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A fact of life seems to be that car shows require beautiful young women, and the Geneva Motor Show is no exception.
Women and cars: the mix looks like it could break an attendance record, with organizers saying the car show had 300,000 visitors by Sunday night 6 March, at the end of its first weekend.
The half-price entry after 16:00 has proven particularly popular.
During the week of International Women’s Day, GenevaLunch asked photographer Mr Kio to turn his lens from cars to women.
He decided to show the people who help sell new car models, rather than just the long legs and other physical attributes that many of the car show photographers focus on when trying to catch the glamour that is part of the show.
"The girls" at the Geneva Motor Show: Mr Kio's portraits in the GenevaLunch 2011 car show album
We’ve just added his new portraits to the Geneva Motor Show 2011 album on GenevaLunch.
Engineers from Switzerland's famed watchmaking area in the Jura have created this eco prototype, Consomini Evo, that has done more than 2,000km on a litre of petrol
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - All roads in Switzerland lead to Geneva starting today, for one of the biggest events on the Swiss calendar, the Geneva Motor Show.
Happily, compared to a few years ago, a growing number of car enthusiasts are willing to take advantage of good offers from the CFF rail company, and the roads are less congested than in the past.
The CFF is putting an extra 15 trains on for the show.
Some 70,000 people are expected to visit the car show, widely considered the most independent of the major auto shows because it takes place in a country with no major car manufacturers.
Iran has an electric car world premiere, the IEFCV Aryana 800, at the Geneva show
Expect Green: environmentally-minded drivers, once considered a fringe group, are now the target group for scores of new models.
The Green Pavilion this year features 17 world premieres, including some of the most unusual cars you can expect to see at the show.
Migros, which has been backing a number of electric motor projects recently, has a strong presence at the show. It announced Thursday morning 3 March that it is opening 45 new electric recharging stations in Switzerland, as part of its push to encourage electric motors.
Rinspeed's BamBoo
Swiss concept car company Rinspeed, noted for many years for James Bond-style flash cars, is showing green vehicles for the second year running, confirming the growing industry move away from guzzlers to planet-friendly vehicles. Its super-sophisticated waterproof electric urban beach buggy includes a foldup bicycle, but under the icing on the package are some sweet futuristic technical design features.
What to expect, how to find your way around the Geneva Motor Show
Where Palexpo, next to the airport, in Geneva
When Starting Thursday 3 March: 10:00-20:00 weekdays and 09:00-19:00 Saturday, Sunday. Closes 13 March.
Swiss retailer Migros proves that the Geneva Motor Show is about more than cars: electric bike El Moto goes up to 45kph and the Vectrix-VX1 is the world's first electric Maxi-Roller
How to get there By far the best option is the train if you’re from out of town, or public transport if you’re going from Geneva.
If you take the train, go to the top of the steps as you leave the CFF/SBB station and take bus number 5 or 28 to Palexpo (2 stops). The CFF Swiss train company offers special deals to encourage people to use public transport and bus passes are included: 10 percent reduction on the train ticket and discount on the car show. You can buy the combined tickets in most railway machines or order online.
If you’re taking the train only one way the special offers won’t do you any good, and you’ll need to buy a bus pass: note that you have to have the right change for the bus. Consider a CHF7 (after 09:00) or regular CHF10 day pass for public transport if you’re planning to see something of Geneva.
The Motor Show site provides a good “how to get here” page with tips for drivers and those taking public transport.
Entry fee: CHF16 for adults and CHF9 for children; group discounts; tickets can be ordered online.
Number of people who attend each year About 70,000 during the 10 day-event.
What you can expect to see More than 700 car models shown by 260 exhibitors, more than in 2010, from 31 countries. An added plus for many visitors: some of the longest legs in the world, on the young women who show the cars.
Highlights of the 2011 car show
Pagani Huayra, for those who like air
The show is huge and, for first-timers, confusing because there are simply so many cars. Some of the odd and special highlights to look out for this year:
Hyundai: a green routing for navigation as well as the traditional shortest and fastest route options
Ferrari is giving us a station wagon, the FF (four wheels, four seats) which bends the rules of what station wagons are all about
Carlsson is making just 25 of its ultra-sumptuous burgundy C25s, at about half a million euros each
Saab has a new hyrid PhoeniX that showcases technology we can expect from the Swedish company in the future, for the more down to Earth driver.
VW offers a retro car, with a new version of the much loved VW van once so popular with hippies.
Fiat‘s hugely popular 500 model arrives this year with an award-winning engine and a double-bubble top from designer Zagato,who always puts these on his special cars, including Ferraris and Aston Martins.
Rolls Royce, not to be outdone in the Green game, has a one-off 102EX Phantom Experimental Vehicle that carries 640kg of lithium batteries so the electric car can make it 120 km without recharging.
Ehning new world champ - Photo Kit Houghton/FEI
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Marcus Ehning of Germany took his third Rolex FEI World Cup jumping title Sunday 18 April, a day ahead of his 36th birthday. He and his stallion Plot Blue came from behind to take the title, to his own surprise he said later. His horse earlier in the events had clipped the last vertical wall, carved with Swiss cows across the top of it, but others also made errors on the last day, in a tight finish.
The event, held at Palexpo in Geneva, was marred for many observers by the contentious news Friday that the horse of the favoured winner, American McLain Ward, had been disqualified.
Links to other sites: Rolex FEI World Cup, Horse News
Title: Depeche Mode
Location: Geneva, Palexpo
Link out: Click here
Description: Concert, with Depeche Mode celebrating 29 years and more than 100 million albums sold – 20,000 seats available for largest indoor concert ever organized in Switzlerand and a first for Palexpo, seats CHF95.
Start Time: 20:00
Date: 11 Nov 2009
© Copyright 2009 ITU/ M.Zouhri
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva plays host next week to the 2009 edition of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Telecom 2009 event at Palexpo, 5-9 October. It returns to Geneva after two years in Hong Kong. World Telecom is traditionally one of the most important meetings in the telecoms and internet communications technology world: it is both a forum and an exhibit, with stands from more than 40 countries this year, bringing together chiefs of industry and government ministers with a stake in the telecoms world.
Some 30 heads of state are expected for the 2009 event.
Title: Expat Expo 2009
Location: Geneva, Palexpo
Link out: Click here
Description: Annual indoor information fair with 180 exhibitors, for the English-speaking international population: services, products, families welcome!
Start Time: 11:00
Date: 11 Oct 2009
End Time: 17:00
Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) – Palexpo, Geneva’s congress and exhibition centre, has asked for building permits to start a project to modernize its complex, including installations, at a cost of CHF100 million. The project, if approved, will take five years. Details of the project, Palexpo, Fre
Geneva, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) - “Zizi sexuel, l’expo,” an exhibition at Geneva’s Palexpo 2 April-28 June, uses a popular French cartoon character called Titeuf to portray the natural curiosity and confusion that children feel when confronted with questions about love and sex. More than 20,000 students from the Lake Geneva region have been invited to the exhibit.
Geneva, Switzerland (Genevalunch) - The Geneva Motor Show has come and gone, but it leaves in its wake a sense that environmentally friendly “green” cars finally matter to manufacturers.
An equal amount of spectator buzz surrounded the less glamorous green cars’ stands as the flashy Ferrari and Lamborghini displays. Many of the manufacturers used g/km CO2 emissions ratios (grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre driven) as their key advertising strategy, splashing the information across the hoods, doors, and roofs of their cars.
mini John Cooper, Geneva Motor Show 2009
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Geneva Motor Show is normally one of the liveliest annual events in the region, with huge media coverage from around the world and snazzy new cars making even the least car-oriented people wonder if maybe a new red Alpha Romeo isn’t just what’s needed at home. Or a smaller red mini John Cooper convertible.
This year, the organizers say they are pleased to see all major manufacturers at the show despite the gloomy economic and industry news, but the pizazz of recent years is missing. The focus is a politically correct green.
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Friday has brought snow right down to the level of the lake, and in the mountains more is expected at the start of the weekend.
Road alerts
The snow is good, the sun is expected to come out Saturday and the Geneva Motor Show is on, so expect heavy traffic on the highways starting Friday afternoon.
Title: Supercross exhibit and race
Location: Palexpo, Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: Two days and evenings of adrenaline and speed dirt bikes.
Start Date: 05 Dec 2008
End Date: 06 Dec 2008
Title: Home, health & garden fair
Location: Palexpo, Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: A mega exhibit of home, health, garden, travel and more.
Start Date: 14 Nov 2008
End Date: 23 Nov 2008
