The events industry talks constantly about talent shortages. But there’s an uncomfortable contradiction sitting underneath many of those conversations: businesses want experienced junior talent, despite being increasingly reluctant to create the opportunities that develop that talent. Across the industry, employers continue to say they struggle to find candidates with the right skills, operational understanding and commercial awareness. Yet at the same time, many entry-level roles now ask for previous event experience even though candidates haven’t had a chance to properly enter the sector.

The UK government has launched the new Youth Jobs Grant to incentivise businesses to take on young people who are currently out of work, with a view to reducing the large number of those not in employment, education or training (NEET).

Martin Rhodes MP, chair of The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Events says he will work ‘persistently and consistently’ to ensure events gain recognition and support from government despite recent funding cuts at VisitBritain and London & Partners threatening international visibility. Speaking at The Meetings Show 2026, a month after news broke that VisitBritain’s grant-in-aid funding was being reduced by 41 per cent, the Labour MP for Glasgow, pledged to ensure the UK’s meetings and events sector continued to gain the attention it deserves.

The Meetings & Events Support Association and their members will be exhibiting for the fifth time at this year’s The Meetings Show.

The votes are in. Spanning 19 categories and drawn from the finest companies, teams and individuals across the UK & Europe, this year’s finalists represent the very best in industry leadership, partnership and innovation.

Jeremy Clarkson hosting Cereals 2026 at Diddly Squat Farm is the kind of announcement that instantly generates national headlines – which is pretty unusual for an agricultural trade show. Not because Cereals is small: it isn’t. With more than 25,000 attendees, it’s one of the UK’s biggest and most commercially important business-to-business farming events. But historically, its visibility has been contained almost entirely within the industry itself. As with many B2B exhibitions, Cereals has always been built around practical value: machinery, crop plots, agronomy, policy discussions and supplier relationships. Essential to its audience, but not culturally relevant to the masses.

A new report published this month puts a headline number on something the events industry has long suspected but struggled to prove: The UK outdoor events sector is worth at least £25 billion a year to the national economy.

IoT specialist AddSecure is warning the hospitality sector to start preparing now for Martyn’s Law or risk serious legal consequences.

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.

The events industry has long argued for its place at the top table. It talks about impact, engagement and ROI. It points to packed rooms, standing ovations and post-event buzz as proof of success. But according to DRPG founder and CEO Dale Parmenter, the problem isn’t visibility – it’s language.

Alastair Winsey is the founder of Silchester Farm and CEO of AIVA Revolution. In his new guest article, he asks an important question, if prices can’t keep rising, how do we protect margins?

According to a new survey from MIA, around 73% of UK event professionals are currently being impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Four months on from the UK Government’s wide scale plans to end ticket touting and protect consumers, many grey areas still remain. Katrina Anderson, the Principal Associate at national law firm Mills & Reeve, discusses the issues involved.