- EMECA Members confirm resilience and positive revenue outlook 2026-2027
- Increasing demand for meetings, further diversification, new exhibitions and international events despite continued uncertainty and geopolitical challenges
- Focus on excellence of services and expansion of services offer
- Maria João Rocha de Matos of FIL, Lisbon, Portugal, elected EMECA President 2027-2028
EMECA Members gathered in Poznań, Poland for the Autumn General Assembly. Grupa MTP staged a fabulous meeting and welcomed the leaders of the EMECA Member companies with extraordinary hospitality at the venue and the city of Poznań (see attached photo).
Host and EMECA President Elżbieta Roeske stressed the strategic importance of the exhibition sector: “The Poznań exhibition activity has started over 100 years ago and is still relevant and thriving. The exchange among the EMECA Members proved again that EMECA Members are resilient, agile and adapt continuously. They seize new opportunities derived from the multiple geopolitical challenges and evolutions in the industry. We drive excellence in the European exhibition industry by fostering the highest business standards and customer service levels.”
The main trends identified among the EMECA Members cover the following headlines:
Venues: continued strategic investments into the venues with the aim of increasing multifunctional spaces and broadening the scope to host more diverse events, such as corporate, B2C, sports and music events. The latest example for this is IFEMA Madrid with its new Formula 1 circuit. Sustainable operations remain a high priority.
Services: exhibition and event diversification lead to a new focus on services. This includes enlarging the offer, service, quality and efficiency, be they provided by third party suppliers or in-house offerings. Easy, centralised and cost transparent ordering systems are key for the customers. Full service from design to execution, all in one hand, is very sought after by clients of big events or bespoke events.
Exhibitions and events: Overall, B2B exhibitions and events work well, B2C even better, while depending on the specific sectors’ performance in the current economic situation. New exhibitions and events are being launched and invested into. These cover mainly strategic sectors in Europe with strong Research & Innovation activity, for example IT, cybersecurity, defence, health etc. Additionally, Corporate events by international brands are increasingly coming to Europe.
Due to the geopolitical and economic uncertainty EMECA Members continue to refine their strategies for exhibitions organised all over the globe as margins are under pressure. They continue launching new exhibitions in very different geographies and sectors. Exhibitions planned by the EMECA Members for the next months in the Middle East have been postponed.
Maria João Rocha de Matos from FIL in Lisbon, Portugal, has been elected by EMECA General Assembly as EMECA President 2027-2028. Furthermore, Silke de Witt, from Koelnmesse, Germany has been appointed Vice President Data & Digital Business while Arnaud Burlin from VIPARIS, France, has been reconfirmed for a second term as Vice President EU Relations. EMECA President Elzbieta Roeske stated: “I extend my sincere congratulations to the next EMECA President Maria João Rocha de Matos, and thank her for taking over this position starting January 2027. Equal congratulations go out to Silke de Witt who will join the Board for the first time and to Arnaud Burlin, for his second term as Vice President. EMECA is fortunate to have Members and individual representatives who are ready to take responsibility and to work together towards constant improvement for our beautiful sector.”
Photo enclosed:
EMECA General Assembly 2026 at Grupa MTP, Poznań – group photo
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.
Press and media contact
Barbara Weizsäcker, EMECA General Secretary