Industry News
Curated headlines from the trade show and exhibition industry's top publications, associations, and expert blogs.
NIAVS 2026 bringing the sound of global expansion on return to Penang
The 4th Northern International Audio & Visual Show (NIAVS) 2026 is set to take centre stage, 17–19 April 2026 at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre, Penang, marking a milestone in the show’s evolution into an increasingly globally recognised platform for high-fidelity audio and visual innovation.…
Meet Retile Floor — the sustainable modular flooring for exhibitions
The video showcases Retile Floor, an innovative and sustainable modular flooring system developed by 4foreverything made of recycled carpet. Designed for trade shows, exhibitions, and corporate events, the solution reimagines temporary flooring through a circular, sustainable approach. Retile Floor…
The Unsung Hero: Roberto Gonclaves, reception manager at QEII Centre
In this series, features and series developer Heather Nicholls speaks to the unsung heroes of the events industry to reveal what really drives their passion and the remarkable contributions we too often overlook. In this edition, we meet Roberto Gonclaves, reception manager at the QEII Centre.…
M&A report shows event acquisitions are increasing
Event acquisitions are increasing, with private equity playing a larger role in deals, according to new data. The latest M&A update from Grimes, McGovern & Associates (GMA), based on more than 360 transactions in 2025, shows renewed momentum in the events sector. Activity has risen steadily over…
Phil Soar: How will the war in Iran affect trade shows?
By Phil Soar, Chairman of CloserStill Group and Nineteen Group First of all – I don’t know. Secondly, no-one knows. Thirdly, Trump certainly doesn’t know. It depends on whether the duration is short or long. Remember: Putin was told his Ukraine invasion would be over in a week. Here we are four…
Media 10 launches Design at Work New York
UK-based independent organiser Media 10 has launched Design at Work New York, a trade event focused on commercial interiors and workplace design. The first edition is scheduled to take place on 10–11 March 2027 at the Javits Center in New York. The event will bring together manufacturers,…
Diversified’s UK & Europe Division acquires Workspace Design Show
Diversified, global B2B events and media company, ha announced its UK & Europe division has acquired Workspace Design Show, a portfolio of events serving the workspace design sector, from Redbridge Events Ltd (Redbridge). Held annually at the Business Design Centre (BDC) in London, and biennially…
Colour and pre-prepared food dominate at Hotel, Restaurant & Catering at Excel
HRC – Hotel, Restaurant & Catering – is in its final day at Excel London. The show is run by Montgomery Group. It’s part of Food, Drink & Hospitality Week, running this week from 30 March to 1 April. The colour One thing you notice when visiting this show is colour. It’s an intensely colourful […]…
Barcelona’s Equiplast 2026 launches congress focused on recycling
From 2 to 5 June, Fira Barcelona, Gran Via will host the launch of Equiplast’s own congress. Thirty sessions will take place within the Rethinking Plastic activities area involving over 100 speakers and the participation of the main organisations in the Spanish plastics ecosystem. The programme…
EN Awards 2026: A night celebrating the best in events
The 19th edition of the EN Awards brought together hundreds of events industry professionals on Friday night at Park Plaza, London, for an evening of celebration, recognition, and entertainment. With co-headline sponsors Flow and Excel London, the night opened with the prestigious Pioneer of the…
Easyfairs releases second Sustainability Report
International exhibition organiser Easyfairs has released its second Sustainability Report. It outlines progress achieved over the past year, including the deployment of a new ESG platform to measure the company’s carbon impact annually. It also acknowledges the challenges ahead and areas where…
The Big Interview: Greg Hitchen, Terrapinn CEO and Julian Agostini
Greg Hitchen on building a global events business Terrapinn CEO Greg Hitchen features in our latest video interview ahead of the EN Awards on Friday 26 March. The episode covers his journey building one of the world’s largest event businesses, from early setbacks through to expanding worldwide –…
Olympia partners with TfL to increase London Overground services to Kensington (Olympia)
Global investment firms, Yoo Capital and Deutsche Finance International (DFI), the driving force behind Olympia’s £1.3bn transformation, have entered into an agreement with Transport for London (TfL) to fund additional London Overground services to Kensington (Olympia). The five-year deal, worth up…
IBTM tries again with Asia Pacific launch, this time in Bangkok for 2027
IBTM has announced the launch of IBTM Asia Pacific, set to take place 9-10 June 2027 at Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). The new trade show by organiser RX Global will aim to bring together corporate, association and agency buyers from across the Asia-Pacific region with…
SNIEC begins venue-wide upgrade
The Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), which hosted a total of 127 exhibitions and events with a venue occupancy rate of 64% over 300,000sqm in 2025 says it is taking advantage of the Lunar New Year break with no exhibitions in the venue, to launch a major upgrade throughout. It begins…
Exhibition carpet. You don’t notice it – until it’s gone
Simon Ridout, ESSA board member and commercial director at Showlite discusses the somewhat controversial topic of exhibition carpet. If social media is anything to go by, exhibition carpet has become surprisingly controversial. Over the past few weeks, there’s been plenty of debate about whether…
Shanghai Fair Healthcare to debut in Malaysia
Shanghai Fair Healthcare makes its inaugural debut in Malaysia on 22–23 May 2026 at Hall 1, Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), bringing together leading healthcare enterprises from Shanghai with Southeast Asia’s growing healthcare market. The two-day exhibition will feature…
Accessibility is improving, but 93% of disabled delegates still face barriers
Accessibility is still a major challenge across the events industry – despite receiving a lot more attention in recent years. Research from the Access All Areas: Closing the Accessibility Gap in Events report shows that 93% of disabled delegates faced barriers when attending events in late 2025.…
Thynk and ShowCycle Partner on single Salesforce-powered platform
Thynk, the enterprise venue management solution, and ShowCycle, the all-in-one software for exhibition organisers built natively on Salesforce, have announced the launch of their integrated Exhibition Center Solution for large-scale convention and event venues. By combining Thynk’s sales and…