Global business events generated more than $1.3 trillion in direct spending in 2025, as they brought together around 1.65 billion participants. These are the topline figures from the newly published ‘2026 Global economic significance of business events study’, commissioned by the Events Industry Council (EIC), in association with Oxford Economics.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Hospitality and Tourism is launching an inquiry into plans for a so-called ‘tourism tax’, and it is seeking responses directly from industry. This comes after last week’s confirmation that mayoral authorities will be granted powers to introduce the levy.

Experiential agency Brandfuel has launched a new internship programme, with four 12-month paid placements across roles from creative and production to business management. The scheme is designed to facilitate entry into the events and creative industries.

For a brief moment during the pandemic, Dan Bardgett saw something that didn’t quite make sense. The trade shows his agency XSEM delivered had gone fully virtual – a forced pivot at the time, and one met with the usual scepticism about whether digital could ever replicate the live experience. But when the results came in, the data told a different story.

New research examining the economic value, employment and key issues for the UK Outdoor Events Sector has been published, 8 years after the last sector specific report was produced.

To mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week, The Power of Events was commissioned by EICC to launch a new industry questionnaire to explore understanding and perspectives on neuro-inclusion in events. 

AGF Festival Sustainability Insights produced from aggregate analysis of all festivals who successfully completed AGF Certification or Sustainability Diagnosis in 2024. A culmination of months of data gathering, screening and number crunching from AGF assessors and analysts. This report provides insight into how festivals are performing against key sustainability metrics, across 16 countries and 4 continents.

Live Recruitment’s Diversity Report provides key diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) metrics for the UK Events Industry using our network of 40,000+ event professionals