Home PARTNER STORIES PARTNER NEWS Bratislava’s Istropolis expected to host its first events in four years

Bratislava’s Istropolis expected to host its first events in four years

Aug 30, 2021

istropolis_bratislava — Photo Credit: KCAP

Leading New Convention Centre in Bratislava

Bratislava will finally acquire a representative space for larger congresses and cultural events that will be able to compete with neighbouring countries. The investor, Immocap, is ready to open the gates of the modern cultural and congress centre, which has been waiting for more than 30 years to open. The new Istropolis will grow on the site of the former House of Trade Unions. Event organisers, artists and musicians have high hopes for the new convention centre.

Trnavské mýto was once a busy centre, bustling with life, where the people of Bratislava came to enjoy. Today, it has mostly become a transfer point for public transport. That, however, will soon change thanks to the modern cultural and congress centre, aiming to bring back social events to the local community.

The new Istropolis will grow on the site of the House of Trade Unions, which could not keep up with the needs of the inhabitants of the capital. “The concert hall in the Istropolis building was very well designed for its time. However, due to the change in the requirements for organising events and the long-term unsatisfactory condition of the adjacent service areas and equipment for visitors, Istropolis was unsuitable for organising events. The logistical and production complexity of events is at a completely different level today. On the other hand, the new space will also bring other possibilities for other types of events that are currently not possible in Bratislava,” says Tomáš Marko from the Vivien agency, which has in the past attracted artists such as Beyoncé and Robbie Williams to Slovakia.

Music expert Juraj Čurný also feels the urgent need to create modern spaces in Bratislava: “The problem is that we do not have a complex where there is not only one hall, but more halls, a place where people would meet naturally, not just for a concert. There are only one-room spaces, often intended for different purposes, where you come and go after you finish, because what would you do there? Without a generously designed cultural and social space, Bratislava is impoverished for foreign and domestic performers to show what is within their capabilities and to present themselves in a way that people have never experienced before.”

What will the new Istropolis bring?

The new Istropolis has the ambition to bring a world-class multifunctional cultural and congress centre to the capital and to place Bratislava among the most developed European capitals. The Immocap project was created in cooperation with the world’s top studios KCAP, Cityförster and Charcoalblue after almost four years of detailed preparation. With a capacity of 3,000 seats and 5,000 seats combined / sitting, it will satisfy the needs of organisers of all types of events, from international congresses and events of state and public administration to concerts, festivals, corporate events, lectures, exhibitions that can take place here simultaneously. In addition to internal capacity, public spaces with green spaces will be expanded by up to 50%. The main square in front of the centre will be enlarged by almost a third, and several other squares will be created in its immediate vicinity, which will offer further opportunities for the organisation of cultural events and community meetings.