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AsiaWorld-Expo Phase 2: Why 100,000sqm and a 20,000-seat arena matter to organisers
Hong Kong ' s biggest exhibition venue is about to get a lot bigger.
siaWorld-Expo( AWE) has
A opened the door for global brands to put their name on the centrepiece of its Phase 2 expansion – a Super Arena with capacity for more than 20,000 spectators. The venue announced that it is inviting expressions of interest( EOIs) for the arena ' s naming rights and wider strategic brand partnerships.
The naming deal will grab the headlines. But for exhibition organisers, the more significant numbers sit elsewhere in the plan. When Phase 2 completes at the end of 2028, AWE ' s exhibition space will grow from approximately 70,000sqm to 100,000sqm – an increase of more than 40 % – and the venue will be built around a format that looks well beyond the traditional trade show.
What Phase 2 adds AWE ' s existing 70,000sqm of rentable space is spread across 10 ground-level, column-free exhibition halls, including the Arena, which is currently the largest indoor seated venue in Hong Kong with a maximum capacity of 14,000.
Phase 2 will connect seamlessly to that footprint. The masterplan links new halls, the Super Arena and a series of indoor and outdoor spaces across both phases, so organisers can run exhibitions, conventions, sport, live entertainment and publicfacing experiences side by side rather than one at a time.
The Super Arena itself is designed for international productions. Tiered seating will wrap around the space to create a 360-degree audiovisual experience, and the layout will support both centre-stage and endstage configurations. There will be 30 VIP suites offering premium hospitality, dedicated catering and priority access.
Built for the festivalised show So, what does this mean for an exhibition organiser?
The clearest answer lies in AWE ' s approach to what the industry increasingly calls festivalisation. Trade shows around the world are adding content stages, evening programmes, consumer days and live entertainment to keep attendees on site longer and give exhibitors more reasons to invest. Phase 2 has been planned with that shift in mind.
According to AWE, an event at the expanded venue could begin with a conference, exhibition or competition, move out into outdoor dining, leisure and community activities, and finish with a concert or celebration inside the Super Arena. The outdoor areas linking the venues are designed to be more than walkways. They can be turned into markets, performance and sporting spaces, food and lifestyle zones, and brand activation areas.
For organisers, that creates the possibility of a single event journey running from day into night on one campus – with the halls, the arena and the outdoor space all under one venue operator. It also opens new revenue lines. Sponsorship, hospitality and ticketed evening content become far easier to package when the concert stage is a short walk from the show floor.
The connectivity case The venue sits next to Hong Kong International Airport( HKIA), which connects to more than 220 destinations and puts half of the world ' s population within a five-hour flight. The airport ' s expanded Terminal 2 will add further passenger capacity and crossboundary connectivity.
38 Issue 5 2026 www. exhibitionworld. co. uk