There is no industry rate for exhibition stand rigging, and no industry load limit either. A rigging point is rated 50 kg in Cologne and 650 kg in Amsterdam. That is a thirteenfold spread, and it is published in documents anyone can download.
Search for what rigging costs and you get a range. Between GBP 400 and GBP 900. Between GBP 800 and GBP 2,500. Notably, no venue is attached to either figure. No document. No date.
We traced those figures. They repeat across roughly six of the ten results on page one. However, not one of them cites a source. They cluster to zero documents, not six. Meanwhile ExCeL London publishes a full 2026 rate card, openly, on its own website. No ranking page mentions it.
So we did what we did on the deadlines article. We analysed the venues' own rigging documents and quoted them. Every figure below is checked against a clause, and where a venue publishes nothing, we say so.
What the venues publish, at a glance
- Cologne and Düsseldorf: 50 kg per point. The two lowest limits we found.
- Amsterdam: up to 650 kg, but it changes hall by hall, down to 125 kg.
- Dubai and Abu Dhabi: you may not hang the stand from the roof at all.
- London: no kilogram limit published. A rate card instead.
- Las Vegas: manual chain hoists are banned outright.
What one rigging point may carry
Rigging is the practice of suspending elements from a hall roof rather than supporting them from the floor. A rigging point is the single anchor the venue installs for you, and its rating is the number that decides your design.
| Venue | Max per point | Which halls or conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Koelnmesse | 50 kg | All halls, one flat figure |
| Messe Düsseldorf | 50 kg | Every hall, per suspension point |
| Messe Frankfurt | 50 or 100 kg | By named hall, manual chain hoists |
| RAI Amsterdam | 125 to 650 kg | Varies by hall and by fixing |
| Fira Gran Via | 150 to 350 kg | By hall, high capacity on request |
| IFEMA Madrid | 250 to 500 kg | 500 kg at truss nodes, pavilions 1 to 10 |
| ExCeL London | Not published | A 1.5 safety factor instead |
| Las Vegas | Not published | Approval needed above 200 lbs |
| DWTC Dubai | Not applicable | Stand suspension forbidden |
| ADNEC Abu Dhabi | Not applicable | No stand structure may attach to the ceiling |
Two entries need their caveat stated rather than buried.
Frankfurt's figures are narrower than they look. Its Technical Guidelines set 50 kg in sixteen named halls and 100 kg in ten others plus the Forum. However, those are limits on what a manual chain hoist may raise. They are not a general rating of the hall's points. Read them as a constraint on method rather than on capacity.
IFEMA's 500 kg comes with a condition of position. Its Normativa para colgar estructuras en pabellones, edition 05/2025, allows 500 kg "en los nudos de las cerchas" in pavilions 1 to 10. Between the nodes, however, the figure halves to 250 kg. Therefore the same pavilion gives you 500 kg or 250 kg depending on where your point lands.
The area limit nobody quotes
Fira Barcelona adds a second ceiling that catches large stands. Its Gran Via regulations cap the total at "15 kg per m2, calculated by the ratio of the total weight of the suspended elements to the hired stand surface".
For example, take a 100 m2 stand. Fira allows 1,500 kg suspended in total, however many points you order. Consequently a designer who checks only the per-point figure can clear every point individually and still fail the stand.
RAI applies a different derate, and it is the one most likely to surprise a contractor. Its regulations state that "the maximum permissible load is 0.5 times the (industrial) WLL". Working load limit, or WLL, is the manufacturer's rated capacity for a sling or shackle. In Amsterdam you may use half of it.
Who is allowed to install a rigging point
This is the answer that changes a quote, and it is nearly unanimous. At every venue we checked, you do not install primary rigging. The venue or its named contractor does.
| Venue | Who installs | Named in the document |
|---|---|---|
| Messe Frankfurt | Messe Frankfurt and contracted firms | Yes |
| Koelnmesse | UEBERKOPF GmbH | Yes |
| Messe Düsseldorf | Messe Düsseldorf | Yes |
| Fira Gran Via | Fira official suppliers | Not named |
| IFEMA Madrid | IFEMA installs all safety cables | Partly |
| ExCeL London | ExCeL rigging team or appointed supplier | Not named |
| DWTC Dubai | DWTC Event Services | Yes |
| ADNEC Abu Dhabi | ADNEC Services, exclusive right | Yes |
| Las Vegas | The appointed general service contractor | Varies by show |
| RAI Amsterdam | One dedicated partner | Not named |
Koelnmesse is the most explicit. Its information sheet Ib 03.01 states that objects "only may be hung up by the service providers of Koelnmesse GmbH". Its own service partner directory names UEBERKOPF GmbH for suspensions in all halls.
Primary rigging is the venue's own attachment to the roof. Secondary rigging is what you attach to that point. The distinction matters commercially, because ExCeL permits the second while reserving the first.
ExCeL's guidelines say contractors "are permitted to make secondary fixings to rigging points supplied by the venue", provided the arrangement is agreed and applied for at least 28 days ahead. Consequently a contractor who assumes total exclusion at ExCeL leaves work on the table.
Las Vegas, however, is the exception worth handling carefully. The LVCVA requires only that "Only qualified riggers may be used", and asserts approval authority itself. Rigging exclusivity there sits with whichever general service contractor the organiser appoints. It is not permanently held by one firm, so check the show rather than the venue.
The two venues where rigging is not a cost question
At Dubai World Trade Centre, an exhibition stand cannot be hung. Its Health and Safety Handbook is unambiguous:
"It is important to note that stands built for the purpose of exhibitions or events at the venues are not permitted to be suspended from the roof of the venues and must be ground supported."
Read that against the sentence before it. The roof at DWTC is available to the organiser suspending trusses through the Rigging Form. It is not available to an exhibitor suspending a stand.
Abu Dhabi agrees. The ADNEC Services rigging form states that "no stand structure is allowed to be attached to ADNEC ceiling as either a precautionary or additional safety measure". It also requires that ground mounted structures "shall be so designated and constructed to be fully self-supporting".
Cologne reaches the same place by a different route. Its guidelines permit hanging, but not hanging that holds the stand up:
"Elements that require suspension devices for such stability are not permitted. Projecting parts of constructions that stand in a stable manner on the floor are permitted to be hung from the hall ceiling."
In other words, three of our ten venues restrict what rigging is allowed to do structurally. Therefore a design cleared in Barcelona on suspended structure is not a pricing problem in Dubai. It is a redesign.
What rigging costs
One venue in ten publishes a rate card. ExCeL London does, and these are its 2026 rigging rates in GBP for a one week hire.
| Item | Advance | Standard | Late |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifting point | 179 | 215 | 258 |
| Electric chain hoist | 152 | 182 | 219 |
| Manual chain hoist | 139 | 167 | 200 |
| Hoist and fix service | 583 | 700 | 840 |
| De-rig service | 583 | 700 | 840 |
| Motor control, cabling and mains | 1,434 | 1,721 | 2,065 |
| Labour | 517 | 620 | 744 |
Advance means 28 days or more ahead. Late means within seven days.
Now read the small print, because this is where the published range on page one falls apart. Four separate lines are compulsory once you order one electric chain hoist. ExCeL states that the "Hoist and Fix & De-rig charge is compulsory for manual and electric hoist hire", that "rigging mains distribution is compulsory for electric hoist hire", and that "'Lifting Points' and 'Electric Motor Control, Cabling & Mains' are a compulsory purchase when ordering Electric Chain Hoists".
Consequently a single electric hoist is never GBP 152. At advance rates it is 152 for the hoist, plus 179 for the lifting point, plus 583 to hang it, plus 583 to remove it, plus 1,434 for motor control and mains. The real figure is GBP 2,931 before VAT, and that is the number a builder needs.
Is the GBP 800 to GBP 2,500 range that page one quotes therefore wrong? Not exactly. It is unattributable, which is worse. It cannot be checked, it names no venue, and at ExCeL it understates one electric hoist before anyone has hung a banner.
For the rest, the honest answer is that the rate is not public. RAI, Koelnmesse, UEBERKOPF, IFEMA, LVCVA and every German venue here publish rules without prices. IFEMA's Normativa says twice that it will invoice "según las tarifas en vigor", according to the rates in force, without ever publishing them.
Two further figures exist, and both need their date attached. ADNEC Services listed a roof point at AED 2,239 early bird. However, the most recent price list we could verify is a 2020 event order form, mirrored in a government-hosted exhibitor kit, so treat it as indicative only. At Las Vegas, Freeman charges USD 126.25 per hour with a two hour minimum. That is a plan processing rate for drawing conversion rather than rigging labour.
The deadline, and what missing it costs
No competitor tabulates this, and it varies by a factor of four.
| Venue | Rigging deadline | Late surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Koelnmesse | 8 weeks before the event | 20 percent |
| RAI Amsterdam | 4 weeks before | Not published |
| IFEMA Madrid | 1 month before build-up | Not published |
| ExCeL London | 28 days for third-party fixings | 20 percent |
| Freeman, Las Vegas | 21 days before rigging starts | Not published |
| LVCVA, Las Vegas | 14 days before first move-in | Not published |
| ADNEC Abu Dhabi | Paid 15 days before the event | Standard price applies |
Las Vegas is the trap. Two documents govern one hall, and they set different dates. The venue wants final plans 14 days before move-in. In contrast, the contractor wants them 21 days before rigging starts. Naturally the earlier one governs. Consequently a team working to the LVCVA date alone is already a week late for Freeman.
What this actually means for a quote
Check the method before the weight
Several venues restrict the hoist rather than the load. For instance, Las Vegas is blunt: "Only electric hoisted winches are allowed. Manual, nonelectrical hand chain fall and hand lever hoists are prohibited."
Others cap the count instead. Fira permits no truss grid raised on more than six manual hoists, and derates every point to 150 kg when manual hoists are used. Frankfurt allows no more than four in a single system. IFEMA bans them on unitary structures with more than four points. Meanwhile ADNEC requires electric hoists above four per lift.
Read the qualification requirement
Germany runs on DGUV 17 and 18, the statutory accident insurance rules for event and production sites. Frankfurt requires fitters certified under them. Düsseldorf requires an IGVW SQQ 2 qualified person for truss installation. However, it exempts simple structures on up to two points at 50 kg each. Meanwhile RAI requires VCA or OHSAS 18001 certified companies.
The materials carry their own paperwork. Fira requires that equipment bear the CE marking and hold an up-to-date revision. RAI goes further for non-EU suppliers, accepting ASME "or an equivalent directive", and requires a WLL inscription or label on the material itself. IFEMA rejects any sling more than five years old from its date of manufacture.
Assume the point is not where you drew it
Fira states plainly that points are "not always possible to locate" everywhere. Pre-rigging may be required, and that adjustment "may entail additional costs that shall be charged to the exhibitor". IFEMA requires a minimum of two hanging points on any assembly. Consequently the drawing is a request, not a plan.
In our experience, tracking those clauses across a season of shows is exactly the kind of thing that goes wrong in a spreadsheet. That is the problem our system exists to hold.
Questions builders ask
Can my own crew rig, or must I use the venue's team?
For primary rigging, you must use the venue or its named contractor at every venue we checked. Specifically, ExCeL, Koelnmesse and ADNEC all state it explicitly. However, ExCeL permits secondary fixings to venue-supplied points if you apply at least 28 days before the first day of tenancy.
What is the maximum weight per rigging point?
There is no industry figure. Specifically, IFEMA allows 500 kg at truss nodes in pavilions 1 to 10 and 250 kg between nodes. Meanwhile RAI ranges from 125 kg in Hall 9 to 650 kg in Hall 1. In contrast, Koelnmesse and Messe Düsseldorf both cap at 50 kg. Notably, ExCeL publishes no limit at all.
Why is my rigging quote higher than the per-point price?
Compulsory extras. Specifically, at ExCeL the hoist and fix charge and the de-rig charge are both compulsory with any hoist hire. In addition, a lifting point and mains distribution are compulsory with an electric hoist. Consequently that turns a GBP 152 electric hoist into GBP 2,931 before VAT at advance rates.
Can I use manual chain hoists?
Often not. For example, Las Vegas prohibits them outright. Koelnmesse allows them during setup only, after which they must hang without load. Similarly, IFEMA bans them on unitary structures with more than four hanging points. Meanwhile Fira allows a maximum of six per truss grid, and additionally derates the points to 150 kg.
Can I hang my stand from the ceiling?
No, at three of the ten. Specifically, Dubai World Trade Centre requires exhibition stands to be ground supported. Likewise ADNEC requires ground mounted structures to be fully self-supporting. Meanwhile Koelnmesse prohibits suspension that provides a standing structure's stability.
How we checked this
Our editorial rule is simple. Every number traces to a named, dated document, or it does not appear.
Every figure above was read from a venue document, not from a summary. Seven manuals were already extracted locally for our deadlines and two-storey articles, and we re-read each for its rigging clauses. In addition, five more documents were fetched for this piece. From our research across those twelve, we found the venues agree on far less than the industry assumes.
Importantly, three claims in wide circulation were rejected because we could not source them. First, a named exclusive rigging contractor at RAI, which no primary RAI page we could reach confirms. Second, a figure of 70 kg per running metre at ADNEC, which appears only in third-party show manuals. Third, an LVCC rigging labour rate of USD 165 to 225 per hour, which traces to nothing.
Finally, two documents carry dates worth knowing. The Koelnmesse sheet is version 28.11.2017, and similarly the ADNEC price list is a 2020 event form. Both are the most recent we could verify. Therefore we would rather print the date than imply a freshness we cannot support.
Spotted an error, or hold a current rate card we have missed? Tell us and we will correct it. More about how we work is on our about page.