It has been held in the first week of September since 1926, and its opening is traditionally marked by a series of programmatical statements by the Prime Minister of Greece.

are indoor exhibition areas, distributed into a complex of 17 pavilions that are functionally designed and interconnected to serve the needs of each event.

The exhibition facilities are complemented by conference centres, parking areas, sports and recreational facilities, catering areas, citizen service centres, museums, banks and developmental agency offices.

[3][4][5] Similar trade fairs of the city have occurred regularly since the Byzantine era, attracting traders from all over the Balkans.

[6] It has been customary for the country's prime minister to set out his government's policies for each coming year in a speech at the annual Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, and for this reason the event has political significance in addition to its commercial importance.