70th Spielwarenmesse Gathers International Toy Community from 132 Countries

The 70th Spielwarenmesse took place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, bringing together members of the international toy community from 132 countries. 2,886 companies showed their products over the course of the five-day fair, presenting retailers with more than 120,000 new toys and games. More than 71,000 buyers were in attendance for the event, which also welcomed 1,544 members of the international media as they covered the latest in toy trends.

Alongside the full annual report available for download here, Spielwarenmesse released a vibrant highlight reel showcasing the happenings at its anniversary Festival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBSwRoB4F3M

Trends for 2019 include Ready, Steady, Play!, The WOW Effect, and Toys 4 Kidults. A highlight of the kick off was the reveal of five ToyAwards winners. Fifteen toys were nominated across five categories from 838 products submitted for consideration. View videos showcasing each of the winning toys here.

Next year’s Spielwarenmesse will occur Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, 2020 in Nuremberg, Germany.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.