The Novi Sad Fair is the leading fair institution in Serbia, but its scope of activities does not encompass only organising exhibitions.
The Novi Sad Fair is a joint-stock company which is the leading fair institution in Serbia. It deals with organising exhibitions and fair events, congresses and professional meetings, as well as with providing marketing, warehousing and catering services.
The fairground covers a total of 226,000 square meters, 60,000 of which is indoor exhibition area.
During important fair events the Novi Sad Fair produces a TV show – TV Svi na Sajam.
Membership
UFI The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. www.ufi.org
ICCA International Congress & Convention Association. www.iccaworld.com
CEFA Central European Fair Alliance. www.cefa.biz
The European Federation of Agricultural Exhibitions and Show Organisers. www.eurasco.org
History
On the foundations of sales fairs and craft exhibitions held in Novi Sad and Futog in the 19th Century, the first agricultural exhibition was held in 1923.
After a number of successful exhibitions, the Joint-stock for Exhibitions and Fair of Specimen in Novi Sad was founded in 1929. A year later, between September 27th and October 6th 1930, the Fair of Specimen was held, an event of international and generally industrial type. It gathered 300 exhibitors. The First International Agricultural Fair and the Exhibition of Breeding Stock were held in Novi Sad from 14th to 18th March 1931. Those events were visited by 15,000 visitors.
The original location of the Fair had been in Šumadijska Street, but already then a more suitable site was sought for. Thus, the 10th International Agricultural Fair was held at a new fairground in today's Hajduk Veljkova Street in 1940. This location has been known as the fairground by generations of Novi Sad citizens. The fair exhibits have been appraised and awarded cups, medals and diplomas since these onset years. Already before the Second World War, Novi Sad Fair had organised exhibitions out of Novi Sad - at Mladenovac, and in Niš in 1940.
The Novi Sad Fair saw a great progress in 1953 with the Fair of Industry and Crafts taking place in spring and the Agricultural-Industrial Fair being held in autumn. During this first year there were already 643 home and 67 foreign exhibitors from eight countries and their exhibits were seen by 80,000 visitors.
The Jubilee 25th Agricultural Fair held in the autumn of 1957, hosted 2,074 exhibitors - 271 of them coming from 15 foreign countries. This fair had become an institution and the Novi Sad Fair was admitted into the Union of International Fairs at its congress in Thessaloniki in October 1958. The first fair under the auspices of this family of international fairs was held in 1959.
After that, the esteem of the Novi Sad Fair has steadily been growing along with the growing number of exhibitors. In the autumn of 1964 two new fairs took place - The Fair of Vegetables, Fruit and Food Products and the Fair of Hunting and Fishing. These were followed by the International Fair of Milling and Baking Industries "Hleb" in 1977, the International Fair of Civil Engineering, Ceramics and Equipment in 1979, The International Fair of Water Management "Voda" in 1980 and the Fair of Small Businesses, which is today known as the Fair of Entrepreneurship in 1984.
In 1990 the Novi Sad Fair became a shareholding company which announced a new stage in its development. Since 1992 the number of events has grown by about twenty, along with a new business course.
