Event report everywhere, it was a timely reminder that short-term yield and long-term franchise health are not the same thing. Every organiser squeezing another sponsorship asset into their venue this year should sit with that thought.
Partnerships without the culture clash Kiersten Pearce of AHLA and Brandy Rand of Questex delivered a candid session on strategic partnerships between associations and independent organisers – collaborations that too often die on the assumption of an inevitable culture clash. Their message was that the clash is implied rather than real, and that structured, honest partnership design can unlock launches neither party could deliver alone. From where I sit, working daily on partnership and barter structures across our own portfolio, this rang absolutely true. The best commercial relationships in this industry are built on clarity about what each side genuinely values.
An industry finding its political voice Fernando Fischer, president Americas, RX Global made the case for what he called ECA 2.0 – a strengthened Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance( ECA), the sector’ s public policy voice in Washington. His argument was blunt: what happens on Capitol Hill has never had a bigger impact on what happens on the show floor, from visa processing to trade policy, and the industry can no longer afford to punch below its weight. UK and European readers will recognise the parallel challenge we face making the economic case for business events to our own governments.
What attendees actually want Rajul Shah of Zoom brought an outsider-insider perspective, having hosted, sponsored and attended events in every configuration, and posed the quiet question every attendee asks: is it worth coming back? His answer – that value lies in outcomes, not swag
– dovetailed with a strong session from Freeman’ s Ken Holsinger alongside ASIS International and Yotta on how learning formats, environments and interactions genuinely add information value across the event experience. The thread running through both: audiences are voting with their diaries, and content-rich, participative formats are winning.
The next generation, present in the room Finally, it was heartening to see The Annabelle Project mentees interviewed on stage – a mentoring programme feeding next-generation talent into our industry’ s pipeline. An industry that spends a day debating its future while investing visibly in the people who will run it is an industry thinking properly about longevity.
A market with real momentum The optimism in the room was not sentiment; the numbers back it up.
UFI’ s 36th Global Exhibition Barometer, published in January, reported that 47 % of companies saw activity grow by more than 5 % in 2025, with 44 % expecting the same again in 2026. Roughly a third of companies worldwide reported operating profit growth above 10 % last year, and a third forecast the same this year. The 37th edition, recently released, confirms the trend has held through the first half of 2026, with AI adoption now reported by 91 % of exhibition companies and limited global knock-on effects from geopolitical disruption.
Sponsorship, meanwhile, was the fastest-growing revenue line in the US market last year – evidence that brands are re-committing budget to live events because nothing else delivers the same concentration of qualified buyers.
Nearly four in ten companies globally plan to grow their headcount over the coming months, with most of the remainder holding steady – hardly the behaviour of a nervous industry. Put simply: this is a sector in structural growth, adapting at pace, investing in talent and technology, and still under-priced relative to the commercial outcomes it delivers. The headwinds discussed at ECEF – economic uncertainty, rising costs, geopolitics – are real, but they are the concerns of an industry managing success, not decline.
Why we will be back ECEF earns its place on our calendar because it compresses a year’ s worth of strategic conversation into a single day and because the people in the room are the ones actually making the decisions. Twenty-five years in, the forum’ s founding premise – that senior organisers benefit from one honest, focused day together – has never looked stronger. If the ideas aired this year are any guide, the exhibition industry’ s next quarter-century is in good hands. We will see you in Washington next year. EW www. exhibitionworld. co. uk Issue 4 2026 49