IAIN STIRLING REFLECTS ON AIME 2026 IN MELBOURNE AS THE SHOW CONTINUES TO GROW AND DEVELOP

and Meetings Event( AIME) returned to Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre( MCEC) in February, and by any measure, AIME 2026 was the most significant edition the organiser had staged. For those who made the journey to Australia, the scale and ambition on display were impossible to ignore – and the conversations happening on the floor reflected a region that is increasingly

confident in its position on the global business events map.

Talk2 Media & Events, which has now delivered six editions of AIME since returning post-Covid, has extended its contract to run the show through to 2028, and chief executive Matt Pearce was in bullish mood when he spoke to CMW during the two-day event.“ This is certainly the largest show we ' ve delivered.”

That’ s a significant claim, but context matters. Pearce pointed to 2015 as a watershed moment when the event took a noticeable dive, followed by a prolonged slide. The rebuild since has been substantial, and 2026 represents its clearest expression yet.

“ We spend a lot of time making sure they’ re real buyers … it’ s a philosophy that prioritises outcomes over optics – and on the show floor, it showed”

Layout and logic The most visible change for returning visitors was the floor layout, reorganised into four distinct quadrants – Australia, hotels, international exhibitors, and a fourth section housing the broader supplier community. It’ s a simple idea, but it works. The clarity of navigation helps buyers and exhibitors alike, and Pearce was particularly enthusiastic about that fourth area.

“ Those smaller exhibitors are often what makes the event pop,” he said..“ Everyone needs destinations and venues, but they also need all the ancillary services that make events work.”

The hosted buyer lounge was relocated towards the end of the hall, making the sheer scale of the event immediately visible on arrival. Pearce was keen to stress that growth is deliberate and curated rather than simply a numbers exercise.“ We ' re now spending as much time on the buyers as we are on the exhibitors,” he explained.“ If you don ' t get the right buyers, exhibitors will leave because they’ re not getting outcomes. The devil’ s in the detail.”

The core hosted buyer group sits at