- EMECA Members paint healthy industry picture with expected revenue growth
- Remarkable resilience to multiple geopolitical challenges and uncertainty
- Continued investments in new exhibitions, digital services, decarbonisation, venue refurbishment and multifunctional spaces
- BELA Award goes to PRIVEL by IFEMA, Madrid, Spain
EMECA Members from across Europe united at Excel London to celebrate the Spring General Assembly. Excel London welcomed the leaders of the EMECA Member companies with extraordinary hospitality at the venue and the city of London (see attached photo).
EMECA President Elżbieta Roeske underlined the strategic importance of the exhibition sector: “Based on the EMECA Members’ updates during this spring General Assembly, we can affirm that the exhibition industry is a very robust industry even it these times of multiple challenges and uncertainties. To navigate shifting markets, our members are responding with strategic investments, diversification, and targeted international strategies, a proactive approach that continually drives innovation and unlocks fresh business opportunities.”
In spite of the geopolitical and economic uncertainty EMECA Members’ business proves highly resilient. This is true for both, those who run venues in Europe and those who are also organisers in Europe and worldwide.
Trade conflicts and wars, related inflation and price increases for energy, labour and services, potential jet fuel shortage, - immediately impact many industrial sectors as well as on the exhibition business itself, both for shows held at the venues in Europe or at other destinations around the globe. The rising costs are squeezing the operational margins of exhibition venues and organisers. Higher costs for travel, ultimately cascade onto participants, altering exhibitors' and visitors' booking and spending habits.
Nevertheless, the appetite to meet in person is even stronger as exhibitions and events provide expert platforms for all sectors and create trust among the attendees. The exhibition industry reacts and adapts fast. EMECA Members actively launch and successfully attract a high number of new shows and other events at their home venues as well as abroad.
Generally, EMECA Members persue their transition toward re-regionalisation to adapt to regional economic shifts. To protect against risk, organisations are proactively diversifying their global portfolios. Furthermore, they are driving operational efficiency by leveraging cross-selling opportunities and bringing European clients to exhibitions abroad and vice versa. Additionally, the intensive diversification of portfolios beyond trade fairs and congresses towards sports and entertainment continues at fast pace.
Furthermore, EMECA Members are systematically expanding their service offerings, especially digital service offerings, to boost sales. They are consistently investing in digitalisation, data optimisation, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
In the field of sustainability, EMECA members continue actively aligning with the Paris Agreement by heavily funding renewable energy like solar photovoltaics – frequently generating energy surpluses. They are simultaneously upgrading venue infrastructure for better energy efficiency and smart logistics management to reduce traffic and encourage public transport. In parallel, EMECA supports the industry's global initiative, Net Zero Carbon Events by JMIC, which provides guidance, best practices and concrete tools, such as CO₂ measurement methodology and education, to help the industry achieve its ambitious goals.
EMECA’s BELA Award 2026, which recognises the best exhibition launch of the previous year, was presented to PRIVEL, an exhibition organised by IFEMA Madrid, Spain. This B2B exhibition fulfilled all the criteria that EMECA supports through the BELA Award for new and innovative projects, namely raising awareness of the innovativeness and attractiveness of the exhibition sector, honouring innovation and entrepreneurship, and actively creating new exhibitions by external organisers or in-house launches, as well as hosting such new launches in EMECA venues which provide the best possible environment for success.
Elzbieta Roeske highlighted in her laudatio: “The strength of the format, the clarity of its target audience, the precision of its strategic execution, and the growth prospects it carries forward, made PRIVEL the unanimous choice of the Jury. Congratulations to the entire organising team at IFEMA Madrid.”
Daniel Martínez, Executive Vice-president of IFEMA Madrid, commented: “it is an honour to receive this award from the global exhibitions industry, which recognises our ability to generate business and identify new market opportunities”.
PRIVEL is a trade fair dedicated to private label, held for the first time in Madrid in November 2025. The concept leverages on a sector that holds a dominant position in the Spanish market, with an expansion trajectory across Europe and Latin America, with the strategic intent to establish Madrid as a leading B2B hub for the industry.
PRIVEL team was able to broaden its reach beyond its natural trend in the food sector, to attract a meaningful proportion of non-food exhibitors and the jury was impressed by the show’s numbers: 269 exhibitors, across 4,200 net square metres, welcoming 4,800 visitors, and excellent revenue results.
Photos enclosed:
1 - EMECA General Assembly 2026 London, group photo
2 - EMECA Bela Award winner PRIVEL, teams from IFEMA and EMECA
About EMECA
The European Major Exhibition Centres Association EMECA unites 25 leading exhibition venues in Europe, many of which are also exhibition and event organisers.
EMECA Members host and organise more than 1.800 trade fairs a year at their home venues in Europe in Europe on a gross rented space of over 30 million sqm. They welcome over 378.000 exhibitors and roughly 39,2 million visits in Europe annually.
The EMECA Members 2026
Belgium:
Brussels Expo
Germany:
Hamburg Messe, KoelnMesse, NürnbergMesse, Messe Stuttgart
France:
EUREXPO – Centre de Conventions et d’Expositions de Lyon, VIPARIS
Denmark:
Bella Center (Copenhagen)
Greece:
Metropolitan Expo (Athens)
Italy:
BolognaFiere, Fiera Milano, Italian Exhibition Group (Rimini, Vicenza), VeronaFiere
The Netherlands:
RAI Amsterdam, Royal Jaarbeurs (Utrecht)
Poland:
Grupa MTP (Poznan)
Russia:
Expocentre Moscow (currently suspended)
Portugal:
Feira Internacional de Lisboa
Switzerland:
MCH Group (Basel, Zurich, Lausanne), Palexpo (Geneva)
Spain:
Fira de Barcelona, BEC – Bilbao Exhibition Centre, IFEMA (Madrid), Feria Valencia
Turkyie:
Istanbul Expo Center
UK:
ExceL London
The EMECA Board 2026
- Elżbieta Roeske, President (Grupa MTP Poznan, Poland)
- Carlo Costa, Vice President Treasurer (IEG, Italy)
- Mario Goffard Negro, Vice President Communication (BEC, Spain)
- Maria João Rocha de Matos, VP Strategy & Digital Business (FIL Lisbon, Portugal)
- Arnaud Burlin, Vice President EU Relations (VIPARIS, France)
- Jeremy Rees, Vice President Technical Affairs (Excel London, UK)
- Barbara Weizsäcker, EMECA Secretary General
Press and media contact
Ms Barbara Weizsäcker, EMECA Secretary General
Tel. +32 25357250
press@emeca.eu
www.emeca.eu
EMECA collaborates with UFI and ICCA in the European Events and Exhibitions Industry Alliance (EEEIA).
EMECA is member of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) and sponsor of NZCE.