IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet

What IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet does

IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet gGmbH is a non-profit (gemeinnützige GmbH) organization founded on December 20, 2019, and headquartered in Essen, Germany, responsible for staging the 2027 International Garden Exhibition (Internationale Gartenausstellung) across the Ruhr metropolitan region. It is jointly owned by the Regionalverband Ruhr, the host municipalities of Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Duisburg, and Lünen, and the Deutsche Bundesgartenschaugesellschaft mbH, with three Managing Directors (Hans-Peter Faas, Nina Frense, Horst Fischer) overseeing a 30-employee team. The exhibition runs 178 days from April 23 to October 17, 2027, across five Zukunftsgärten (future gardens) in Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Lünen, and Emscherland (Castrop-Rauxel/Recklinghausen), supported by more than 50 partner municipalities and a program of 6,000+ events.

Its core product is the physical garden exhibition itself, augmented by a digital layer centered on the MEIN GARTEN community platform — a project-registration and networking portal supporting initiatives such as Offene Gartenpforte Ruhrgebiet (110+ private gardens), 100 Wohngärten, and the Balkonwettbewerb. Additional products include the flowAR augmented-reality experience ('the world's largest virtual garden'), the #zusammenwachsen education campaign with Pop-Up-IGA mobile teahouses, the planned decentralized IGA Picknick 2027 targeting 100,000 participants, and ticketing infrastructure including Dauerkarte season passes and day tickets. The technology stack is event-infrastructure-led rather than software-led: a 9-language website (German, English, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Spanish, Italian), the MEIN GARTEN portal, social channels, and Brevo-powered newsletters, with no disclosed AI/ML, API, or proprietary model capabilities.

The business model is a hybrid public-non-profit structure. Revenue is generated from four streams: ticket sales (day tickets and pre-sale Dauerkarten; some areas such as Emscherland remain free), corporate sponsorship (REWE, Amprion, Sparkassen NRW, KETTLER), municipal and shareholder funding from Regionalverband Ruhr and the host municipalities, and on-site merchandise and concessions. Distribution is decentralized across the five Zukunftsgärten with online ticketing through the website and municipal partner channels serving as local information and engagement nodes. Customer segments span the general public and families (primary end visitors), 50+ Ruhr-region municipalities (shareholders and operational partners), community organizations and green initiatives (MEIN GARTEN participants), and schools and youth (#zusammenwachsen campaign), with the go-to-market centered on a community-led, event-driven motion combining physical venues, mobile Pop-Up activations, and a multi-language digital footprint.

Name

IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet

Legal name

IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet gGmbH

Website

https://iga2027.ruhr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Non-profit gGmbH organizing the 2027 International Garden Exhibition across the Ruhr region, operating five Zukunftsgärten, the MEIN GARTEN community platform, and engagement programs for municipalities, visitors, and citizens from April 23 to October 17, 2027.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Garden Exhibition

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Zoos and Botanical Gardens (712130)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

National Park & Protected Area Tours (THAJAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Garden Bed Design, Layout & Planting Plans (HSAIAFAA), Seasonal Color, Planting & Horticultural Services (BPABADAL)

Keywords

• Garden exhibition
• Landscape architecture
• Urban greening
• Community engagement
• Cultural event management

Headquarters

HQ city

Essen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from sale of tickets including day passes and season passes (Dauerkarte) for access to the five Zukunftsgärten and associated events. Season passes available at reduced pre-sale prices. Some areas remain free to access.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors including REWE, Amprion, and Sparkassen in NRW provide financial and in-kind support. Sponsors receive logo placement and marketing exposure on the website and at exhibition venues.
3. Municipal and Public Funding: The gGmbH is funded by shareholders including the Regionalverband Ruhr, municipalities (Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Duisburg, Lünen), and Deutsche Bundesgartenschaugesellschaft mbH. Public funding supports the regional development mission.
4. Merchandise and Concessions: On-site sales of merchandise, food, beverages, and potentially regional products at exhibition venues and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet gGmbH organizes and operates the International Garden Exhibition 2027, a decentralized regional garden show spanning five Zukunftsgärten (future gardens) across Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Lünen, and Emscherland in Germany's Ruhr region, running from 23 April to 17 October 2027. The organization sells tickets and season passes to visitors, curates 6,000+ events, and operates the MEIN GARTEN community engagement platform that invites residents, neighborhoods, and sponsors to co-create gardens and initiatives across more than 50 participating municipalities.

Product overview

IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet is a regional international garden exhibition (23 April – 17 October 2027) positioned as 'the largest garden festival in Europe,' spanning the entire Ruhr region with five main Zukunftsgärten (future gardens) in Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Lünen, and Emscherland as its primary exhibition venues. The offering combines physical garden exhibitions, landscape architecture showcases, and sustainability demonstrations with a digital community engagement layer centered on the MEIN GARTEN platform, enabling project submissions, event registration, and regional garden networking. Supporting initiatives include the #zusammenwachsen education campaign, mobile Pop-Up IGA tea houses, the flowAR augmented reality experience, community garden events (Offene Gartenpforte), and the decentralized IGA Picknick 2027 planned for June 2027. Ticketing services provide access to the 178-day exhibition featuring over 6,000 events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MEIN GARTEN: The community participation platform of IGA 2027, allowing citizens to share their green projects and initiatives in the Ruhr region.
• Zukunftsgärten
• Pop-Up-IGA
• Offene Gartenpforte Ruhrgebiet

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 100,000 participants expected at IGA Picknick 2027
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• KETTLERminorOthers · 6 July 2026KETTLER provides design furniture for the Zukunftsgärten, ensuring special quality of stay in the future gardens of the International Garden Exhibition.
• Wirtschaftsbetriebe Duisburg (WBD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Duisburg municipal utility bringing the future garden into the city through mobile roadshows, actions throughout the city, and numerous participation offerings to inspire citizens for IGA 2027.
• REWE GroupminorOthersCorporate sponsor of IGA 2027. Logo appears in partner section on website alongside other sponsors.
• Amprion GmbHminorOthersCorporate sponsor of IGA 2027. Logo appears in partner section on website.
• Sparkassen in NRWminorOthersCorporate sponsor of IGA 2027. Regional savings banks association supporting the exhibition.
• Regionalverband RuhrcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain shareholder of IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet gGmbH. Regional association coordinating metropolitan development across the Ruhr region.
• Deutsche Bundesgartenschaugesellschaft mbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShareholder and professional partner providing expertise in garden exhibitions and horticultural events.
• Municipalities (Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Duisburg, Lünen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey municipal shareholders hosting the five Zukunftsgärten and providing local organization, funding, and community engagement.
• 50+ Ruhr Region MunicipalitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner municipalities including Essen, Bochum, Oberhausen, Herne, Bottrop, Hagen, Hamm, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, Kreis Recklinghausen, Kreis Unna, Kreis Wesel participating in the decentralized exhibition concept.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Singapore Garden Festival: Biennial international garden and flower show held in Singapore. Comparable in scope as a ticketed garden show with international landscape designers, though focused on tropical horticulture and the Asian market.

Others

• Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR): The public regional planning association that is the primary shareholder of IGA 2027 and manages the Emscher landscape park and other regional green infrastructure. Closely linked as parent/owner and as operator of complementary regional recreation assets.

Broad incumbents

• Mainau Island: Lake Constance island operated as a year-round botanical garden and tourist attraction with seasonal flower themes. Comparable as a destination garden venue in the DACH region with ticketed entry, seasonal programming, and corporate sponsorship (Bosch family ownership).
• RHS Chelsea Flower Show: Iconic annual British horticultural exhibition operated by the Royal Horticultural Society. Comparable as a globally recognized garden show with show gardens and ticketed entry, though far more compact in duration and scale than IGA 2027.
• Keukenhof: The Netherlands' world-famous seasonal flower garden attraction, open for ~8 weeks each spring. Comparable in being a destination garden tourism venue, but a permanent site rather than a one-off exhibition.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World-leading public botanical garden and UNESCO site with ticketed entry, education programs, and conservation mission. Comparable as a major public-facing nature/garden institution combining ticketed tourism, education, and research, though operating as a permanent institution rather than a one-off exhibition.
• Expo 2025 Osaka: Large-scale themed international exposition with similar multi-month operational footprint and pavilion-based attraction model. Broader scope than IGA 2027 but comparable in event scale, ticketing, and international visitor acquisition.

Direct peers

• Bundesgartenschau (BUGA): Germany's flagship federal garden show, operated by the same Deutsche Bundesgartenschaugesellschaft mbH that is a shareholder of IGA 2027. BUGA is the closest direct peer as the canonical German horticultural exhibition format, though traditionally held in a single city rather than across a region.
• Landesgartenschau: German state-level garden shows held biennially across German federal states. Directly comparable format to IGA/BUGA at smaller scale, with similar ticketing, municipal partnership, and seasonal exhibition economics.
• Floriade Expo: Decennial Dutch horticultural world exposition held in Almere, Netherlands. Closely comparable as a large-scale international garden exhibition with a sustainability/urban-development thesis and a multi-month run, though operated by a different national horticultural society.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IGA2027
• Facebookfacebook.com/IGA2027
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iga-metropole-ruhr-2027-ggmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/iga2027

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IGA 2027 Ruhrgebiet