BMW Anniversaries 2022 & 2023

The year 2022 was marked for the BMW Group by two anniversaries: the BMW Group main factory in Munich was celebrating its 100-year milestone, while the headquarters – in the iconic form of the four cylinders of BMW – held its 50-year anniversary. Both occasions were celebrated in May and July with a festive event respectively. In autumn, the whole workforce from the Munich branch was to be invited with their families and friends to a 2-day festival, the “BMW Anniversary days”, on the grounds of the BMW factory. However, this was postponed to July 2023 due to the pandemic.

HAGEN INVENT was in charge of the concept and organisation of the BMW “Anniversary Trilogy”, paying special attention to a coherent design concept that linked the three successive events. Illustration-style key visuals with strong com-plementary colour contrasts formed the basis for three separate design concepts that made a conscious effort to stand out from the BMW Corporate Design.

The BMW plant in Munich kicked off the anniversary trilogy with an event on 20 May, celebrating its 100 years of coming into being and its transformation to an iFACTORY. A spotlight was cast on the defining spirit of innovation amidst historical factory halls, with a setup of decentralised stages and futuristic media animation.

This was followed on 22 July with the BMW highrise and its 50-year anniversary. Prime Minister Markus Söder, the star tenor Jonas Kaufmann, famous architects Francis Kéré and Wolf dPrix, as well as many other high-profile guests, artists and musicians were invited to the celebratory festival event at the BMW Welt. The programme included an exhibition of the famous BMW Art Car collection. The vertical performance by the American dance ensemble BANDALOOP was a further highlight. Their bold choreography presented an interplay of architecture and dance at a height of almost 100 metres on the façade of the four cylinders.

At the beginning of July 2023, the BMW factory site and production facilities finally opened their gates for the families and friends of the Munich workforce and allowed exclusive insights into the highlights of the production areas.

Vehicle exhibitions and exhibitor stands were presented in the outdoor areas, with a diverse range of entertainment and information. While spectacular drift shows by the Red Bull Drift Brothers and the BMW Driving Experience were offered on the entry road, both internal BMW Group and external artists took command of the main stage and various decentralised stages. International catering and entertainment rounded off the programme for all age groups. Over 70,000 guests came together on two summer days for a family festival on the factory site.