BMW Welt

BMW Welt (English – BMW World) is a multi-use exhibition center used for meetings and promotional events, and where buyers take delivery of BMW vehicles. It is in district Am Riesenfeld in Munich, Germany, next to the BMW Headquarters and the Olympiapark.

BMW Welt operations are coordinated with the other local BMW facilities, the BMW Museum and BMW Headquarters. It has a showroom with the current model lineup of BMW cars and motorcycles, and the other two BMW Group brands, Mini and Rolls-Royce. Customers picking up special ordered cars are given a dramatic "staged experience" in which they await their new car in an enormous glass-walled hall, and their cars are lifted up from lower levels on round elevator platforms. BMW Welt also has shops selling BMW-branded promotional merchandise and accessories, and a restaurant.

In 2001 an international architectural design competition was sponsored by BMW AG. Twenty-seven offices participated in the competition four of which were awarded prizes. The jury awarded two offices Sauerbruch Hutton and COOP HIMMELB(L)AU first prize and made the recommendation for the competitors to rework their design submissions in a third design phase in order for BMW to determine which office would be awarded the contract.

The contract was awarded to the Vienna-based architects COOP HIMMELB(L)AU and the facility was constructed from August 2003 through summer 2007 at a cost of US$200 million. Originally conceived to be open and ready for World Cup 2006, it eventually opened on October 17, 2007, and deliveries commenced on October 23, 2007. The first customer to take European delivery of a new BMW at the Welt was Jonathan Spira. There were 2,200,000 visitors during the first 12 months of operation. The number of visitors increased to 2,930,000 in 2013, of which 60% came from Germany.

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