Exhibitions + Congress
Home / UK Events Industry / Exhibitions + Congress
Sector at a Glance
1
Contributes circa £11 billion to the UK economy.
2
Supporting an estimated 180,000 businesses.
3
1100 UK exhibitions attracting circa 9 million visitors per year.
Sector Overview

Exhibitions + Congress

Trade exhibitions are aimed primarily at those working within a particular trade sector and its peripherals. Visitors to trade exhibitions are usually required to establish their trade credentials and buying power.

Trade exhibitions are quite diverse within their industry sector, with B2B services and equipment as the core focus, often in the IT/Telco sectors, alongside more specialist congress events which primarily support the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Consumer shows (also referred to as public) are primarily organized to attract the consumer or general public and usually charge for admission. These are strongly orientated to the leisure, lifestyle, wedding and homeware sectors.

The business events sector contributes circa £11 billion to the UK economy. Trade and consumer exhibitions support an estimated 180,000 businesses. The main UK exhibition venues host 1100+ p.a. attracting circa 9 million visitors. Venues, organisers and suppliers including AV, exhibition design and construction companies all work together to deliver exhibitions.

Latest Sector Research
Sector Events Calendar
September 24
16-17
Inspirational Venue Roadshow: Novotel Liverpool Paddington Village & Spaces at The Spine
The final Inspirational Venue Roadshow in our Summer Series 2024 will take place at Novotel Liverpool Paddington Village Brand-new stylish hotel offers a variety of sophisticated meeting rooms, a 53sqm gym and both casual all-day dining options including a ground floor coffee shop and a contemporary restaurant and bar. Spaces at The Spine offers a range of dynamic spaces for conferences, workshops, dining and more. Located inside The Spine building in Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, the venue can accommodate virtual and hybrid events showcasing the best-in-class building connectivity and agile audio-visual systems to create bespoke events time and time again Located in the City’s dynamic Knowledge Quarter, just minutes away from multiple University Campuses with the vibrant City Centre just 15 minutes walk. Great transport links including Lime Street Station and Edge Hill Overground within walking distance. Prime location with a direct connect next door to RCP Spaces at The Spine, […]
September 24
30-2
Convening EMEA
Convening EMEA is PCMA EMEA’s annual flagship event bringing together the global business events industry for an immersive 3-day programme in Europe. The event attracts 500+ business event leaders from over 40 countries to challenge each other and develop ways to move forward together. It is the platform to share knowledge, make meaningful connections, learn, do business, be inspired and to grow as an individuals, teams and organisations. This is your opportunity to contribute to building a stronger future for the business events industry, join us in Barcelona in September 2024 as our journey continues.
October 24
14
The EAFN Show 2024 – East of England Event Production Conference and Exhibition
The East Anglian Festival Network’s fifth annual free Conference and Exhibition brings together hundreds of festival, fair and fun day organisers, venues and suppliers from across the East of England. • Excellent Speakers in the Conference/Q&A Sessions. • Dozens of East Anglian Event Suppliers/Venues exhibiting their goods and services. • Networking with Event organisers, venues and suppliers from across East Anglia and beyond. • A chilled musical backdrop to the Show featuring a lunchtime showcase of local performers. • Bar, Refreshments and Lunchtime Food available. • More Fun and Surprises…… This year the EAFN Show will be held at Huntingdonshire’s largest and premier venue the Burgess Hall Events and Conference Centre in the beautiful market town of St Ives, the Old Riverport in Cambridgeshire. The EAFN 2024 Show co-headline sponsors are one of the UK’s leading East Anglian based Event Suppliers Gofer Ltd and Electric Cat Productions the dynamic marketing […]
Business + Brand Experiences
UK EVENTS INDUSTRY
EXPLORE OTHER SECTORS
Outdoor Events + Festivals
Get Involved
Research

The event industry’s reliance on data to help it plan for the future, increase its resilience, manage risk and justify investment decisions, is growing year on year.

The engagement and access that The Power of Events (UK) has across all 7 sectors of the industry, enables data gathering and in-depth research projects to be delivered confidently and consistently. This will be primarily facilitated through the new insight app to be launched on 28th Sep 2023.

By bringing the industry and university partners together, research projects will be designed to deliver real benefits to the industry in terms of trend analysis, insights and performance improvements.

SUGGEST RESEARCH PROJECTS
Our Supporters
Drawn from across the seven core sectors the Power of Events (UK) supporters are committed to showcasing the UK Event Industry.
BECOME A SUPPORTER
Our Partners
The Power of Events (UK) partners are collaborating to share research, data and insights for the benefit of the whole UK Events Industry.
BECOME A PARTNER