BMW Welt at ITB 2011

Munich 's famous visitor attraction offers an unimaginable range of experiences

Visit BMW Welt at ITB Berlin,
from 9 to 13 March in the "Bavaria Hall" –
hall 6.2b, stand 303

Munich : BMW Welt. Munich 's most popular visitor attraction.

In just a short time, the BMW Welt complex – consisting of BMW Welt, the BMW Museum and the BMW plant – has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Munich. Nearly seven million people have visited BMW Welt since it opened in October 2007. It now stands at number one in the list of Munich's most visited sights, attracting two million visitors a year.

BMW Welt bases its recipe for success on its wide-range of regularly changing exhibitions and central themes and its exciting programme of events. BMW Welt thus combines technology, design and innovation with lifestyle, dynamism and culture and acts as a public forum for encounter and dialogue.

Since its opening in 1973, the home of the BMW Museum, known as the "Museum Dish", has been one of the city's most famous architectural landmarks, extended in 2008 by the flat structure of the BMW corporate headquarters that directly adjoins it. The exhibition concept of the BMW Museum presents lines of development, starting in the past, leading into the present and providing fascinating glimpses of the future. 120 original BMW exhibits from the last 90 years of BMW history, brought to life through sophisticated multimedia presentations, take visitors on a personal journey through time. The Isetta, the BMW 2002, the R32 motorcycle, the BMW 328 and 507 are amongst the great favourites with the public in the new BMW Museum.

The main focus of the Museum's educational concept entitled "Teaching with the BMW Museum" are programmes for schools, consisting of thematic tours followed by an artistic and practical programme component. The Museum offers schools and children's and youth groups tours and workshops for 6- to 13-year-olds and 14- to 18-year-olds.

Thanks to the new Production Mile, the BMW plant will once again in 2011 be able to grant many visitors a glimpse into all the BMW production areas.

From now on, visitors to Munich who have booked the grand tour operated by Gray Line SIGHTseeing, starting from outside Munich's Hauptbahnhof, will also be stopping at BMW Welt on their trip through the city in a blue open-top double-decker bus. Tickets to the BMW Museum will be available at a reduced price, and visitors will be able to pick up a few bargain souvenirs in BMW Welt. Munich's most visited sight has thus now become a fixed component of the "hop-on hop-off" city tours.

The complete BMW Welt, BMW Museum and BMW plant complex gives visitors the chance to experience every facet of the brand at close quarters.

BMW Welt 2011. Munich's most exciting venue.

In 2011, BMW Welt will be hosting a true explosion of over 50 events, from Brazilian Carnival, the innovative clubbing format "Drehmomente" featuring award-winning short films, through improvisational theatre and the Poetry Slam, to the Sunday matinees and the finale of the famous BMW Welt Jazz Awards.

There will be a very special highlight for lovers of mystery novels on 20 March: Best-selling author Simon Beckett will be reading from his latest thriller "The Calling of the Grave" in the Auditorium and signing personal copies. The event is part of the ninth Munich Thriller Festival.

From 31 March, the Double Cone will be turned into a very special showroom, presenting the new BMW 6 Series Convertible in a spectacular new exhibition. The famous lighting designer Ingo Maurer has provided the setting for the new model in line with the exhibition's motto – "Aesthetic that moves".

The scene is also set for thrills on 6 July: In BMW Welt, fans of the Olympics, winter sports lovers and Munich's loyal supporters will be on tenterhooks to hear whether the metropolis with a heart is to be chosen as the venue for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

In addition to the wide range of events and regularly changing exhibitions of BMW technology, design and innovation, visitors are particularly fascinated by the unusual, prize-winning architecture of the building. The daily guided tours are very popular. And the Junior Campus also offers a specially tailored programme for younger visitors. Specially trained staff accompany children and young people through various adventure areas: The Campus Portal and the Laboratory, the Campus Workshop and the BMW Welt Mobility Tour, where young visitors can playfully explore the concept of "mobility with every sense" on their own initiative.
All the attractions are combined in the BMW Premium Tour, which links BMW Welt, the BMW Museum and the BMW plant with each other.

BMW Museum 2011 – dedicated to fashion.

Clothes make the man – and they look good in museums too. In the BMW Museum, 2011 is totally dedicated to fashion. With exhibitions, private viewings and fashion shows, the BMW Museum is acting as host and cooperation partner to fashion colleges and companies. The curtain-raiser was provided by the AMD (Academy for Fashion and Design), which, together with the BMW Museum, presented the end-of-term works of the Fashion Design (B.A.) course and the final assignments of the Fashion Design graduates of 2011, with the slogan "NEXT.11 Rien ne va plus – Best of AMD Munich”. In addition, a whole week is dedicated to a real Munich fashion institution: The "German Master School for Fashion" will be showing its latest designs from 21 to 28 July. 

Apart from this, the temporary exhibition "Welcome home BMW Art Cars" has been extended in response to public demand. The BMW Museum will now be presenting the world's greatest show of "moving works of art" until the end of September 2011. Outstanding artists from all over the world have been designing BMW automobiles for their time ever since 1975. Visitors can look forward to seeing BMW Art Cars created by artists from nine different countries on all five continents, including Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, A.R. Penck, Sandro Chia, Jenny Holzer, Olafur Eliasson and, temporarily, Jeff Koons.

The BMW plant. Passionate workers in harmony with cutting-edge technology.

In the main BMW plant in Munich, visitors can experience the fascination of modern automobile construction at close quarters. The new BMW Production Mile runs through a total of twelve halls, covering most of the production areas. Guests can witness a combination of unique logistics and meticulous attention to detail: 10,000 parts from a vast range of countries have to be brought together here in the right place at the right time. The plant tour starts with the perfectly coordinated "robots' ballet", which amazes visitors with the sheer aesthetic appeal of the technology. They can then watch the majority of the nearly 9,000 employees from 50 countries putting together a completely individual automobile, tailored to the customer's own wishes. Because apart from fleet orders, Plant no. 1 in Munich only makes on average up to four identical vehicles a year, even though a new BMW is created every minute here.

Since the opening of BMW Welt in October 2007, the main plant here has been welcoming around 150,000 guests each year – and has inquiries from many more. It is therefore recommended that visitors book as far as possible in advance.

Booking and packages for tour organisers.

Guided tours through the BMW Welt experiences can be booked by telephone each day from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. by calling: +49 (0) 180 2 118822 (€0.06 per call from German landlines, maximum €0.42 per minute from German mobile networks).

From the 2nd quarter of 2011, complete packages for tour organisers can also be booked at Besucherservice.tourismus@bmw.com, including a tour of BMW Welt, a catering voucher of choice for the International Restaurant in BMW Welt, a shopping voucher for the shops and a free coach parking space. Entry to or tours around the adjoining BMW Museum or BMW plant can be added to the packages. In the Olympic Park close by, presentation of the ticket gives a reduction on selected facilities, such as the trip up the Olympic Tower, the tour of the canopy roof or the stadium tour.

Package offers in BMW Welt:

Further information about the wide range of facilities in general is available online at:
www.bmw-welt.com

If you have any further questions, please contact:

Corporate and Governmental Affairs

Helmut Pöschl, BMW Welt Spokesman

Telephone: +49 89 382-45500, fax: +49 89 382-7045500

mailto: Helmut.Poeschl@bmw.de

Corporate and Governmental Affairs

Manfred Grunert, Technology Communication , Heritage,  Science Club,  Scientific Award

Telephone: +49-89-382-27797, fax:  +49-89-382-23927

mailto: Manfred.Grunert@bmw.de

Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com,

E-mail: presse@bmwgroup.com

BMW Welt, Bavaria's most popular attraction

In just a short time, BMW Welt has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bavaria. Around six million people have visited BMW Welt since it opened in October 2007, which equates to two million visitors a year. BMW Welt successfully combines technology, design and innovation with lifestyle, dynamism and culture, and acts as a public forum for encounter and dialogue. Those who would like a more in-depth insight into the BMW brand can experience a whole day in BMW Welt, the BMW Museum and the BMW plant. The guided factory tours start in BMW Welt, which is directly linked via a bridge to the Museum and the BMW Group's central administration building. Here, the authenticity and continuity, brand history and innovation production and technologies of BMW are made tangible through the extremely informative guided tours of the plant. For 7- to 13-year-olds, the Junior Campus is an independent world of experience, based on the latest scientific research into the development of children and young people, where mobility can be playfully discovered with all the senses.

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 24 production facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

The BMW Group’s global sales volume for the 2010 financial year amounted to approximately 1.46 million automobiles and over 98,000 motorcyles.

For the 2009 financial year, the BMW Group achieved a global sales volume of approximately 1.29 million automobiles and over 87,000 motorcycles. Revenues totalled euro 50.68 billion. At 31 December 2009, the company employed a global workforce of approximately 96,000 associates.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last six years.