Event: IFA Berlin 2026
Dates: Friday, September 4 to Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Media Days: September 2-3, 2026
Location: Messe Berlin, Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin, Germany
Host: IFA Management GmbH, on behalf of gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH
Theme: The future is now
Scale: 1,900+ exhibitors from 49 countries, 26 indoor halls plus the Summergarden, roughly 160,000 square metres
IFA has been running in Berlin since 1924, which makes the 2026 edition part of its second century. It is the largest home and consumer tech show in the world by visitor count, and unusually for an event of this size, it is open to the public as well as the trade. The 2025 edition drew more than 220,000 visitors from 140 countries. Anyone with a ticket can walk the halls and put hands on hardware that will not reach shops until the holiday season.
Show Areas
The floor is split into eleven themed areas: Audio, Communication & Connectivity, Computing & Gaming, Fitness & Digital Health, Home Appliances, Home & Entertainment, Mobility, Photo, Video & Content Creation, Smart Home, and Beauty Tech & Wellbeing. IFA Next sits alongside these as the startup and disruptive-innovation platform, where early-stage companies meet investors and press.
The anchor exhibitors are the ones you would expect. Samsung, LG, Bosch, Siemens, Sony, Panasonic and Miele all build large stands, some running past 5,000 square metres. Around those, the smaller halls carry the component makers, accessory brands and regional distributors that do the actual business of the show.
IFA Global Markets
The B2B sourcing side runs as its own event at CityCube Berlin from September 5 to 7, with more than 550 exhibitors. This is the OEM and ODM layer: suppliers, component manufacturers, contract builders and brands that have not surfaced in Europe yet. It is accredited trade only, and a standard visitor ticket does not cover it. Buyers who come to IFA specifically to source product spend most of their week here rather than in the main halls.
Programme and Content Tracks
Everything on the conference side maps to five tracks: World of AI & Future of Tech, Retail & Future of Commerce, Marketing & Creativity, Culture & Lifestyle, and Smart & Sustainable Living. Trade visitors get the Retail Innovation Zone, the IFA Retail Leaders Summit, the IFA Innovation Awards, keynote sessions, expert panels and bookable guided tours of the halls.
The public-facing programme is grouped under IFA Moments, which this year includes humanoid robot demonstrations, smart home sessions, the Creator Hub and startup Pitch Battles. The Sommergarten runs its own concert schedule with BUNT., Luciano and Ikkimel; a Sommergarten ticket includes hall admission for the same day.
Opening Hours and Tickets
For private visitors the halls open at 12:00 on Friday, September 4, then 10:00 to 18:00 from Saturday through Tuesday. Families, school groups and visitors with disabilities can enter from 10:00 on all days, including the Friday.
Online tickets are €21.50, rising to €28 at the gate. Students and visitors with disabilities pay €14 online, a family ticket is €43 online, and children up to and including age 15 enter free. Trade visitors register separately and get access to the B2B areas and programme.
Getting There
Messe Berlin sits in Charlottenburg at the foot of the Funkturm, with good rail access from every direction. S-Bahn lines S41, S42 and S46 stop at Messe Nord/ICC. S3 and S9 serve Messe Süd and Westkreuz, and the S9 runs from BER airport in roughly 45 to 60 minutes. On the U-Bahn, line U2 stops at Kaiserdamm and Theodor-Heuss-Platz. From Hauptbahnhof it is about 20 minutes by S-Bahn.
What to Watch
The open question for 2026 is pricing. The 2025 cycle put AI features behind premium price tags and consumer reaction was uneven. If the brands hold those prices through September, the fourth quarter gets expensive for everyone. If they retreat, IFA turns into a value show, with the interesting news coming from the mid-tier rather than the flagship stands. Watch what the appliance makers do first. They move on price before the phone and TV divisions do.