The 2023 Christmas Market in Gdańsk made history. From November 24 to December 23, we celebrated beautifully in Gdańsk, which was noticed not only in Poland. It was a period full of many fair premieres, and visitors appreciated, among others: flavors of the fair, which is confirmed by 40 percent more receipts issued by catering exhibitors - compared to last year. We invite you to the 2024 Christmas Market now.
The pre-Christmas period in Gdańsk was brightened up, as every year, by the Christmas Market. Targ Węglowy, ul. Tkacek and Bogusławskiego, the Armory and the Przedgate Complex, thanks to their magical interior, introduced a wonderful atmosphere that could be felt in every corner of the Fair. The atmosphere was created by exhibitors, visitors, a rich cultural program and 20 illuminating figures - part of the We Launch the Holidays campaign, which until February 2, 2024, illuminates the city in 13 locations in Gdańsk thanks to 160 illuminated figures.
Appreciation of quality products
This year's Christmas Market attracted visitors with its magic every day. Although we are still waiting for official statistics on the number of people who visited the Fair during four weeks, the exhibitors themselves admit that the traffic was greater. This is visible in the statistics of receipts issued by the catering section of the Christmas Market in Gdańsk. There were about 40 percent of them. more than a year ago. As you can see, visitors appreciated, among others: a quality product that dominated the fairgrounds. Visitors include: drank hot drinks from over 155 thousand. fair cups.
In the food court, the fair's hits were langos. Culinary gourmets also appreciated Kashubian smoked fish and fish products, honey and gingerbread, and raclette. Among the sweets, there were also cinnamons and, traditionally, hot chocolate, loved by children.
This year's edition of the Armory Fair was a great alternative for people who value unique gifts. The premiere was at the stands of Polish fashion designers - where original cuts interested not only women, but also men. Natural, handmade candles, ceramics and Christmas decorations made by local factories were extremely popular.
The fair was honored by the presence of people from all over the world, and apart from Poles, the inhabitants of the United States, Spain, Italy, England, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Germany dominated.
Fair guests were inspired by over 80 handicraft stands and tasted the flavors of 17 world cuisines - at over 60 stands. The fair supports local entrepreneurs and this is visible among the exhibitors - as many as 99 came from the Pomeranian Voivodeship, including 52 from Gdańsk.
Fair premieres
This year's fair was full of premieres. Even before the event started, a completely refreshed website bozonarodzinowy.pl .
Statistics show that visitors absolutely love it - over 60 percent showed up there.
more people than last year's edition. Year-on-year growth of almost 160%. recorded at the entrances of foreign users. In addition to the countries mentioned above, which had a strong impact on the results, the website also hosted guests from exotic places, such as: East Timor, Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Mauritius.
Among the premieres taking place during the Christmas Fair, the Armory housed the Christmas Treasury of Ideas, which included gift inspirations. They were placed by exhibitors from the Armory, and visitors voted for the most beautiful or most practical gift. The Vericone leather wallet received the greatest recognition.
For the first time, the Grand Prix of the Christmas Fair was presented, i.e. exhibitors were awarded in the following categories: Good Idea and Good Taste.
The Grand Prix in the first category went to Glassware Art Studio Przemysław Huras for making glass-blown and hand-painted baubles using the traditional method.
Honorable mentions went to Bartłomiej Siedlikowski for fruit and Christmas scented decorations and Ivan Korchevny for hand-painted lanterns. In the Good Taste category, the Grand Prix went to MANAT Mirosław Liss for Kashubian fish delicacies. The following were honored with distinctions: Pszczelarska Wyspa Alina Bylicka for honey products and Robert Kaczkan for game food products.
The winners in both Grand Prix categories received, among others: vouchers worth PLN 3,000 to be used to purchase a stand at next year's Christmas Market.
In the Przedbramia Complex, which was also a novelty at the fair because it was fully included in the event for the first time, there was an ongoing toy exchange activity - toycrossing. You could exchange books in the Armory.
The Fair for Śródmieście campaign also premiered, i.e. a special day for those who hosted the Christmas Fair in Gdańsk for four weeks. The most popular were the workshops of the State Forests, during which volunteers created green Christmas decorations.
For the first time, the organizers have prepared a dedicated Christmas offer for children from primary schools in Gdańsk, "Christmas Adventure at the Christmas Market".
In Santa's Workshop, over 300 children, under the care of elf animators, met with Saint. Santa Claus, took part in workshops and enjoyed attractions at the Christmas Travel Corner with Ambersky.
The organizers also established cooperation with the Gdańsk Museum, which conducted a historical lesson in the Armory, and with the Gdańsk Zoo, thanks to which fair participants could create lynx Christmas tree decorations and support the "Photo without a wild cat" campaign.
Returning to the Ambersky Christmas Adventure Corner, a spinning coaster called Spinning Barrels appeared there for the first time in the history of the event.
There was also a Gdańsk Carousel made this year in an Italian factory. The Corner also includes Saint's sleigh. Nicholas – VR journey and Observation Wheel. All attractions were also very popular.
The fair is for charity
For years, at the Christmas Market in Gdańsk you can join charity events that support the Hospice Foundation.
In addition to volunteers collecting money for the Foundation, people also helped in other ways. The GPEC Group, together with Amberexpo, collected funds in an original, festive way. In the winter house of the GPEC Group, you could buy tickets that allowed you to start the "Magic of Christmas" (Instaspot) with one button. The proceeds from the tickets will be donated to the Foundation's beneficiaries.
Stuffed animals from the Teddy Bear Gate also "encouraged" people to support the Foundation, which decorated the entrance to the Saint's Workshop for three weeks of the Fair. Nicholas in the Armory, and then, after distributing 500 teddy bears, they went to the house of the Gdańsk Tourist Organization, where when buying two fair mugs, they received a stuffed animal. Traditionally, part of the funds from the sale of fair cups will go to the Foundation's account. Over 5,000 fair cups were sold throughout the Fair. Currently, the total amount collected during fair events for the Hospice Foundation is over PLN 55,000. PLN, although we are still waiting for the final data.
Charitable events were also held in the Armory.
"Give the Future - Foster Care in Gdańsk" is a campaign promoting adoption and support for foster families. The local integration center for people with mental disabilities organized two days of workshops, during which salt dough decorations were made and the art of decoupage was taught. The center's residents participated in the workshops and presented various handicrafts. They could be purchased as a contribution to support the center in its operation
The Fair's tradition is also to help those most in need. At the end of the Fair, in cooperation with the Municipal Family Assistance Center in Gdańsk, a person was selected to whom the organizers of the Fair, i.e. the Gdańsk International Fair, provided a donation in the form of a rehabilitation bed necessary for everyday functioning and first-needs products.
However, right after the end of the Christmas Fair, Christmas Eve was held in the Armory for those in need on the initiative of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, Restaurateurs and Hoteliers and the Academic Chaplaincy "Górka" operating at the Dominican Church of St. Nicholas. Amberexpo, the organizer of the Fair, rented space for this special time and provided organizational support to support the noble action.
There was a lot of talk about the Christmas Market in Gdańsk
Last year's success and second place in the European Best Christmas Markets 2023 plebiscite made the Gdańsk event even more famous on the Old Continent and beyond. He appeared on social media almost constantly. He has appeared on websites in Italy, including: thanks to travel.thewom.it, appeared in a National Geographic article, while the French travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler called Gdańsk a "Fairy Tale City" - also because of the Christmas Market in Gdańsk - and placed it among the 32 best places to spend Christmas and the holidays around Christmas. The society is distinguished and includes cities such as Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Copenhagen and the more distant New York, Hong Kong and Dubai.
Over 200 posts appeared in the fair's social media, which perfectly created the atmosphere of the event and reached 1.5 million recipients.
Influencers, mainly those related to gastronomy, did not miss the Christmas town in Gdańsk. In traditional media, the fair was hosted by, among others: both in live programs on TVN24 and Polsat News, as well as in other 6.4 thousand.
media publications. In total, thanks to the media, information about the Christmas Market in Gdańsk was displayed over 1.7 billion times.
A rich artistic program
Attractions related to the artistic program were very popular every day. The biggest hit was, of course, the visits of St. Nicholas, who appeared in the Christmas town in Gdańsk as many as 15 times. In total, the daily program included 141 items, including: concerts, theater performances, Christmas dances and karaoke. Generic scenes were performed by the Gdańsk Garrison, and national stars also appeared on stage, such as Dorota Kolak - she read fairy tales to the Fair's guests and invited them to the Wybrzeże Theater - and Joanna Jabłczyńska.
Fair guests could listen to carillon concerts and admire the performances of the
Gdańsk Song and Dance Ensemble. The Choir of the Medical University of Gdańsk performed impressively, although the audience was most warmed up by the performance of the Słowiańska Dusza band, which combined the Christmas repertoire of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. At the end, the band performed the beautiful song "There is no city like Gdańsk".
The program also included the Writing Gdańsk Postcards campaign organized by the City of Gdańsk and Creative Pedagogy. Free workshops took place at the Armory.
During the Fair, the streets of the historic center of Gdańsk will be transformed
into a Christmas town thanks to beautiful illuminations. This is, among other things, thanks to the Strategic Partner of the Christmas Market and Illumination of Gdańsk - Gdańsk Waterworks.
The partner supporting the Fair in Gdańsk is the GPEC Group - sponsor of the Gdańsk Illuminations.
We are pleased to announce that the MTG operational team completed the dismantling of the fair infrastructure in a record time in three days, on December 29, 2023, and the area was restored to its original functions.
The organizers are already inviting you to the Christmas Market in Gdańsk in 2024.
