Controversial discussion of the split

In 1985 the last "amalgamated" HANNOVER MESSE underlined the urgent necessity of regrouping CeBIT as a separate entity. Compared with 1970 the number of IT exhibitors had increased two-fold to 1,300 - and a further 870 companies were on the waiting list. The rented stand space had grown two and a half times to 130,600 square meters, while the number of visitors had risen almost fivefold - to 293,000. With almost 7,000 exhibitors and over 800,000 visitors, the 1985 HANNOVER MESSE had reached its absolute capacity limits.

The decision to create a separate trade show for exhibitors of office, information and communications technology was far from being an uncontroversial one. At the 1985 HANNOVER MESSE the separation of CeBIT was the number-one topic of discussion. The pros and cons were still being hotly debated in the immediate run-up to the CeBIT premiere in 1986. The advocates of the split pointed to the extended exhibition space and improved infrastructure. The opponents argued that an independent CeBIT devoid of an industrial background would lose some of its appeal.