appointments  drupa 
About a year and a half before drupa 2004 is set to kick off, the event is as good as booked to capacity. According to current standings on the heels of the registration deadline and the first meeting of the admissions committee in December 2002, more than 1,800 exhibitors are expected at the 13th print media fair from 6 to 19 May 2004, occupying over 160,000 square metres of net exhibition space in 17 halls. Messe Düsseldorf managing director Horst Klosterkemper notes that these initial figures "spell the global printing and communications sector’s clear vote of confidence in drupa Düsseldorf even against a difficult economic backdrop." He also underscores the event’s status: "drupa was, is and will continue to be the world’s No. 1 fair for print media, publishing and converting. It is to the printing and communications sector what the Olympic Games are to sport. No other trade fair has such a fundamental influence on the economy and innovations cycle of an industry."