Gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the BIU. It is used by many video game developers to show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware. Gamescom is the world's largest gaming event, with 335,000 visitors, more than 6,000 journalists and 700 exhibitors from 88 countries attending the show in its sixth year. It was first held from 19 to 23 August 2009. In 2015, Gamescom will be held from 5 August to 9 August.