"The quali-quantitative balance of Euroflora 2025 is more than positive"

The results of the XIII Euroflora – International Flower and Ornamental Plant Exhibition, the only Italian event among the floralies recognized by AIPH, were presented today in Genoa. The press conference was attended by the President of Porto Antico di Genova Spa Mauro Ferrando, the data scientist of the Liguria Region Luca Sabatini, Paolo Corsiglia for the board of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, the Vice President and Councilor for Agriculture of the Liguria Region Alessandro Piana, the Councilors for Tourism of the Liguria Region, Luca Lombardi, and of the Municipality of Genoa, Alessandra Bianchi, the acting Mayor of Genoa Pietro Piciocchi, and the President of the Liguria Region Marco Bucci.

"The quali-quantitative balance of Euroflora 2025," states Mauro Ferrando, "is more than positive. We took up the challenge of returning to the original location, profoundly transformed thanks to Renzo Piano's project, with the debut for exhibition purposes of the central arena of the Palasport and the areas of the future urban park of Piazzale Kennedy. We dared to choose a project, created by the architect Matteo Fraschini of the Urges Valagussa group, with high sustainability characterized by highly recyclable materials, wood, and cardboard fittings, in compliance with all current safety regulations. More than anything, we wanted to propose a Euroflora rich in innovative content and interactivity. Attendance approached two hundred thousand, with peaks in the period between April 24 and 30. A further element of satisfaction concerns mobility; even during periods of greatest affluence, traffic flowed smoothly thanks to the decision to direct visitors towards public transport, from trains to tourist buses and free connecting shuttles."

Alongside spectacular elements such as the Florida palms, the acidophilic plants of Piedmont, the cut flowers of Liguria and Campania, the intertwined azaleas, and the nursery plants of the Pistoia area, the centuries-old olive trees, the collections of carnivorous plants, succulents, and bonsai of extraordinary beauty and value, to name just a few, Euroflora 2025 focused on biodiversity, sustainability, landscape architecture, research, and technology, offering itself as a place for exhibition, dialogue, and exchange for floriculturists, researchers, scientific communicators, and public administrators who focus on nature as an element of redevelopment for our cities.

As the neuroscientist Stefano Mancuso explained to the public of the event, our cities need to give up 20% of the asphalt and replace it with rivers of trees. Viola Follini, senior project manager of C40 Cities, speaking at the presentation of the Coldiretti - CNR research, focused on the beneficial effects of plants on people's mental and physical health. Green therapy, in its broadest sense, is the only possible answer to look to the future. It is exactly with this spirit that many of the Euroflora exhibitors interpreted their participation, meticulous reconstructions of natural environments and micro-environments to awaken everyone's sensitivity, but also participations such as those of the Space V space greenhouse with astronaut Franco Malerba, Nemo's Garden with the underwater greenhouse, and the Italian Institute of Technology with the latest innovations in nature-inspired robotics research.

Among the novelties of the 2025 edition, interactivity played a predominant role with 150 events scheduled. In addition to Stefano Mancuso's conference "Fitopolis – The City of Plants," noteworthy were the meeting "Technical Tests of Extinction" with Mario Tozzi, which focused on climate change, caused and accelerated by humans, the monologue "Respect" by Federico Quaranta, which intertwined personal reflections and observations on contemporary society with sustainability, focusing on "good living" as opposed to hyper-consumerism and planned obsolescence, and the passionate conversation "In the Beginning Was Sound" with the orchestra conductor Peppe Vessicchio, who explained the certified dialogue between plants and music.

Four meetings clearly defined the outlines of the path undertaken by the Genoese floralies. The bonsai lessons were very popular, with the five-day masterclass by Japanese master Naoki Maeoka at the top, as well as the floral composition workshops with the master florists of Affi, Federfiori, the Ligurian Florists Collective, and the Liguria Region, the workshops for children organized by the Biodiversity Department of Pieve Santo Stefano of the Carabinieri Forestry Corps and the Forestry Corps of the Cites Carabinieri Unit, and by Confagricoltura.

The program of the competitions held was demanding - 254 honorary, technical, and aesthetic competitions evaluated by a team of 155 people, including 105 Italian and foreign jurors, 8 area managers, and 35 jury secretaries, supported by the 7 members of the scientific committee. The total prize money amounts to over 150,000 Euros. Particular attention was paid to the "Ars Urbana" competition which selected twelve projects created in the Kennedy area by landscape architects in a mix of art, innovation, and sustainability.

The research carried out on Euroflora 2025 visitors
The Euroflora 2025 research, conducted through 1,339 face-to-face interviews between April 24 and May 4, with a sample error margin of ±2.7%, was presented by Luca Sabatini, data scientist of the Liguria Region. The analysis provides a detailed and reliable picture of the visitors' profile, their opinions, and the overall level of satisfaction with the experience. The public is confirmed to be mature, with an average age of 49.7 years, and characterized by high mobility: 37.6% of participants, in fact, come from outside the region. There is also a good ability to attract new audiences, with 45.4% of visitors attending the event for the first time. The most appreciated elements were the floral displays, which alone garnered the approval of 43.6% of respondents, followed by the evocative location (19.7%) and an appreciable logistical and operational organization (7.1%). However, the report also highlights some critical issues that deserve attention in view of future editions: visitors expressed dissatisfaction mainly with the ticket price (17.2%), the crowding in the pavilions and along the paths (15.2%), and internal signage that was not always clear and effective (12%). Overall assessments express a good level of satisfaction.

On a scale of 1 to 5, the event's content obtained an average of 3.8, the location recorded a 4.2, while the services offered (reception, info points, catering, etc.) reached 4.3, the highest score among the three areas. The average rating assigned to the overall experience is 4.1 out of 5, a figure that testifies to the perceived quality of the event, with a share of satisfied visitors (ratings 4 or 5 out of 5) equal to 79.3%. Furthermore, 78.5% of participants said they were willing to recommend Euroflora, while 86.5% stated their intention to participate in future editions as well. Young people are the protagonists of a new way of experiencing the event. The generational analysis reveals how the youngest age group showed a growing interest in the event, with a satisfaction rate (88.4%) and a propensity to return (88.9%) significantly higher than the average. This is accompanied by a strong willingness to promote the event through digital channels and social media, thus becoming spontaneous ambassadors of the event among their peers and followers. A significant figure emerges from analyzing the behavior of the most satisfied visitors: over 90% of them express a concrete intention to return, confirming a positive bond and an experiential value that goes beyond a simple visit. Noteworthy also is the interest in collateral activities: 10.9% of the public participated in parallel events, revealing a growing attention towards an integrated cultural and educational offer. From the point of view of the exhibitors, the interviews reveal general satisfaction with the organizational support received and the visibility obtained, although there remain areas for improvement, particularly regarding the positioning within the exhibition spaces and the attendance in the less central pavilions. In any case, satisfaction with the event is good (3.7), while the perceived satisfaction with their own participation is higher (4.1). Finally, the intention to participate in future editions remains high (72.5%), a tangible sign of the strategic value recognized in Euroflora also by professional operators.

Euroflora B2B
From a strictly professional perspective, the preview presentation of the ANVE-ICE Observatory on Italian floriculture, with a focus on ornamental outdoor plants, fruit plants, and ornamental citrus fruits, compiled by Nomisma, was particularly important. There was a significant increase in the presence of foreign buyers. The missions organized by the ICE Agency, preceded by an advertising campaign in the main foreign sector media, were two in total, with 80 buyers from Europe, Arab countries, the Far East, and Canada. The day of April 28, open to sector operators, saw the presence of two missions organized by the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Nice, and the EEN (Enterprise Europe Network), with buyers from various European countries who met Ligurian companies in the floriculture and agri-food sectors.

Euroflora's services for the public
Two free shuttles, from Porto Antico and Genoa Brignole station, provided a continuous service to the Waterfront to transport visitors arriving at Genoa Brignole station and from the tourist bus parking areas in Corso Aurelio Saffi and Corso Quadrio.

Public medical assistance, provided by 118 emergency services, consisted of 12 teams of paramedical personnel and three ambulances, located in Piazzale Kennedy, the Marina area, and the rear of the Blue Pavilion. A permanent medical assistance station was operational in Piazzale Kennedy. A total of 89 interventions were carried out.

The dedicated transport service for visitors with disabilities was entrusted to the Confraternita di Misericordia Genova Centro – Santa Caterina da Genova (Archconfraternity of Mercy Genoa Centre – Saint Catherine of Genoa). The transport, available from Genoa Brignole and Genoa Piazza Principe railway stations, or directly from home, was used 166 times. 223 manual wheelchairs and 310 electric wheelchairs were used. There were two information and assistance points for visitors: POINT Euroflora: located near the priority access for disabled people, POINT Stazione Brignole: inside the station, near the Punto Blu (Blue Point).
130 Civil Protection volunteers, divided into shifts, were dedicated to welcoming visitors arriving by tourist buses in Corso Quadrio and Corso Aurelio Saffi, at Brignole station and along the route to the Waterfront. Two control rooms connected to 36 cameras monitored all areas and entrances to the event. Compliance with the authorized instantaneous capacity was checked for the first time through 112 people-counting mats positioned at the entrances and exits of Kennedy, the Palasport, the Marina, and the Blue Pavilion.

Visiting Euroflora
Among the personalities visiting Euroflora were the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, the Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Patrizio Giacomo La Pietra, present in Genoa for two days of meetings with representatives of sector associations, the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Edoardo Rixi, the President of AIPH Leonardo Capitanio, of Coldiretti Stefano Prandini, of Confagricoltura Massimiliano Giansanti, of ANVE Luigi Pagliani, of Federfiori Rosario Alfino and the Vice President of Affi Mara Verbena.

Media presence
509 journalists were accredited starting from April 23, from France, Switzerland, and Croatia, along with 50 TV operators, 45 photographers, 89 content creators, and 16 bloggers.

The city during Euroflora
During Euroflora, a flowered Genoa offered tourists a kaleidoscope of opportunities: the two weekends of the Rolli Days – April 26 and 27, May 3 and 4 – exceeded 100,000 participants in visits to the palaces and collateral events. The Aquarium and the Children's City also set records at the Porto Antico, and the three floral-themed installations at Palazzo Ducale, the Diocesan Museum "dressed" in flowers and plants, and the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art, which inspired part of the Municipality of Genoa's scenography at the Palasport in the section dedicated to Japanese flora, generated excellent interest. In addition to the installations in key points, in museums, at the Nervi Parks, in Galleria Mazzini, and in all the Municipalities of the city, curated by the Municipality of Genoa in collaboration with Aster, there were initiatives promoted by the Chamber of Commerce, including the distribution of 3000 posters and 400 plants to the local business associations (Civ) and the shop window competition in which 31 shops and 16 Civ participated.

Euroflora continues…
The Euroflora organization is distributing the plants donated by the exhibitors, a gesture of sharing and care for our environment consistent with the spirit of the event. The distribution, carried out in collaboration with Aster, will take place in the coming days in order of priority: first the Ligurian Municipalities, second the Municipalities of the City of Genoa, third the kindergartens and elementary schools, fourth the secondary schools and educational institutions, fifth the hospitals and healthcare institutions in general, and sixth the entities and associations of the third sector. The delivery of plants to private citizens is not planned. The call for expressions of interest, published on the event's website, closed last night. Among the donated plants are some beautiful boxwoods from the Romiti nursery resistant to the box tree moth, a lethal parasite that afflicts the species. Genoa Experience, retailer of the official merchandising of Euroflora 2025, donated T-shirts, shoppers, tote bags, backpacks, pencils, pens, and mugs to the children of the Comunità di Sant'Egidio missions in Malawi.