Industry News
Curated headlines from the trade show and exhibition industry's top publications, associations, and expert blogs. Stay current with exhibitor announcements, show openings, industry trends, and market news from across the events world. Whether you follow technology, healthcare, food, or manufacturing events, our news feed surfaces the stories that matter to trade show professionals, exhibitors, and event marketers.
Excel London Expansion Generates $337M From 10 Congresses
Excel London says its £220 million expansion, about $296 million in U.S. dollars, generated new event business and visitor spending during its first year of operation. The 25,000-square-meter addition hosted 30 major international events within 12 months. Together, those events used 500,000 square…
IMEX America Maintains Zero-Waste Status for Seventh Year
IMEX America maintained a 90 percent waste-diversion rate in 2025 while hosting its largest edition to date, according to a new event sustainability report. The report, developed with sustainability consultants MeetGreen, tracks waste, materials, food recovery, travel data, and other environmental…
Across the Aisle: Nobody Here Will Stop You Carrying Your Own Box
I once spent the better part of a day in an American hall beside a booth I could not take down, waiting for my own empty crate to come back to me. It was two hundred metres away at the outside. The entire aisle was waiting on the same forklifts. There was nothing whatsoever I […] The post Across…
Exhibit Happy by Steelhead Named a Winner in Business Intelligence Group’s 2026 Sustainability Awards
Submitted by Exhibit Happy by Steelhead Las Vegas exhibit house recognized for Sustainability Initiative of the Year for its rental-first model, which cuts waste from trade show marketing without compromising client experience LAS VEGAS, NV Aug. 4, 2026 — Exhibit Happy by Steelhead, a Las…
McCormick Place Earns Platinum Sustainability Certification
McCormick Place has earned Platinum Level Certification under the Events Industry Council’s (EIC) Sustainable Event Standards, advancing from Gold status in 2025. Platinum is the program’s highest certification level. The standard evaluates environmental and social practices across climate action,…
Houston Tents & Events Acquires Jaacked Event Rentals
Houston Tents & Events has acquired Jaacked Event Rentals and expanded into West Texas. The deal creates Houston Tents & Events – West Texas Division. It also keeps Jaacked Event Rentals owners Jomar Alcala and Priscilla De Luna Alcala with the business. Jaacked Event Rentals has served San Angelo,…
HKTDC August Fairs Bring 1,850 Exhibitors to Hong Kong
Five Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) fairs will bring more than 1,850 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre beginning Thursday, Aug. 13. The 36th Food Expo, 10th Beauty & Wellness Expo, and 12th Home Delights Expo will run…
Kentucky Exposition Center Expansion Nears Milestone
Construction on the Kentucky Exposition Center’s $460 million transformation continues toward a year-end milestone, with the first phase scheduled for substantial completion by Thursday, Dec. 31. The work became more visible after Interstate 65 through Louisville reopened Wednesday, July 29. A…
Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Launches ECA Ambassadors Circle to Strengthen Industry Advocacy Efforts
Twenty-eight leaders selected for new advocacy leadership program to help amplify the business and professional events industry’s voice WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA), the public policy voice of the U.S. business and professional events industry, today announced the…
Peoria Civic Center Names Beau Sutherland General Manager
The Peoria Civic Center Authority (PCCA) and Legends Global have named Beau Sutherland general manager of the Peoria Civic Center. Sutherland had served as interim general manager since June 1. Before that, he worked as assistant general manager. He began his career at the venue in August 2000.…
Tradeshow Industry Outlook: ExSys Panel Examines AI and Costs
Artificial intelligence, rising costs, new rules, labor needs, and the demand for real human connection are changing the tradeshow industry. Those forces framed “Forecasting the Future,” a July 28 panel presented during the 2026 ExSys Awards at Moss Inc. headquarters in Franklin Park, Illinois.…
Why Marketing Should Own the Entire Tradeshow Process
For decades, the tradeshow playbook has looked the same at almost every exhibiting company: Marketing plans the booth, sets it up, and runs the campaigns. Sales works the floor. When the show ends, the leads get exported into a spreadsheet or customer relationship management (CRM) system, and…
Absolute Exhibits Donates Materials for Police Training
Absolute Exhibits has donated about $40,000 in reusable exhibit materials to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) for emergency-response training at the Joint Emergency Training Institute (JETI). The donated wall systems and furniture now help create reconfigurable rooms inside…
Cleveland Expands Convention Venues and Hotel Package
Cleveland’s meetings infrastructure continues to expand with new event venues, hotel renovations, and nearly 500 planned hotel rooms expected to strengthen the city’s convention package through 2027. The largest project is a $135 million expansion of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, scheduled for…
SEMA Names Brian Pagel Chief Revenue Officer
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has named Brian Pagel chief revenue officer. Pagel brings years of experience in business-to-business events, association partnerships, and portfolio growth. Before joining SEMA, he served as executive vice president at Emerald. There, he led…
Farnborough Airshow Draws 141,580 Visitors and $84.7B in Deals
Farnborough International Airshow welcomed 141,580 trade and public visitors in 2026, a 41 percent increase from the previous edition and nearly twice the attendance recorded in 2022. The five-day event brought aerospace, defense, and space professionals from 136 countries to Farnborough…
Why the EAC Fee Is Really a Tax on Exhibitor Choice
By Jim Wurm, EACA One of the fundamental principles of the trade show industry has always been exhibitor choice. Exhibitors have the right to select the contractor they believe is best qualified to install, dismantle, supervise or service their exhibit. That freedom has created a competitive…
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Generates $367M for Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre hosted 756,721 delegates in 2025, including 59,013 international delegates, and reported an estimated RM1.5 billion (approximately $367 million in U.S. dollars) in economic impact for Malaysia. The venue also hosted 16 meetings that qualified for the International…
Dow Event Center Names Joseph Stetson Food and Beverage Director
The Dow Event Center and Legends Global have appointed Joseph Stetson as director of food and beverage operations, a newly created position overseeing food and beverage service throughout the Saginaw, Michigan, venue. Stetson brings more than 30 years of executive chef and food-service leadership…
Nashville’s Music City Center Convention Center Spotlight
Nashville’s Music City Center (MCC) (201 Rep. John Lewis Way South) opened in May 2013 as a completely new facility to replace the aging Nashville Convention Center. The location chosen for the complex was Black Bottom, a section of downtown so named because of the muddy residue left on streets…