boe international 2026: Healthy mix of new horizons, openings, and networking

Flagship international trade show stages inspiring innovation and parades AI potential.

The boe international kicks off 2026 impressively, confirming its role as a key venue for the event industry. Stronger international credentials, an increasingly diversified portfolio, and convincing programme content – embellished with innovative, true-to-life experience formats – the flagship exhibition offered a compelling trade fair experience. The community response was consistently positive. This industry hotspot once again spurs innovation, creative flair, and business success in the event sector.

Dortmund, 21 January 2026 – “Once again, the boe international 2026 has demonstrated the fine reputation this exhibition enjoys as a central meeting point for the event industry. Marked by intense business discussion and quality networking opportunities, the boe got the year off to a flying start, highlighting its strategic importance,” said Sabine Loos, Managing Director of the Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe which owns and operates the Messe Dortmund venue. Commenting on the new brand image, she added: “The boe international 2026 has clearly demonstrated the potent effect of rebranding. The new image has totally revitalised this flagship trade show by conveying clearer messages with greater recognisability and more powerful content. The positive stakeholder feedback we’ve been hearing clearly indicates that this move has set the stage for future growth. More than ever before, the boe signifies direction, inspiration, and dependable quality in the event industry.”

Markus Illing, Chief Executive Officer of fwd: the German Concert and Event Industry Association which assists the boe in its role of conceptual sponsor, also emphasised the key importance of the trade show for the event industry: “The biggest challenge we’re facing these days is the acute crisis of confidence affecting brands, companies, and communication in general. Exhibitions and events are increasingly gaining attention because communication in a live setting serves as a trust-building experience – not as in a staged event, but as a means of cultivating relationships. Events are evolving from being a mere highlight to becoming strategic management tools offering direction and positioning, and opening up space for dialogue. To keep pace with market dynamics, our industry needs to be networking even more closely by entering into partnerships and new alliances to pool resources for greater versatility and a faster response to ever shorter project shelf-lives – the boe international plays a key role in all of this.

Débuts and new experience formats: Meeting the future now

The annual industry event turned plenty of heads with numerous débuts and exciting new formats. eBrain, for example, presented the first AI-based Guest Management System, with visitors being able to test its potential in a live setting. The new start-up & innovation area set the stage for young enterprises and innovation, and thrilled visitors with exciting pitch battles at the Founders Fight Night. The “FORMAT SHIFT” podcast and the new special AI event plAIground also added fresh momentum. The program was flanked by Fireside Talks, new stages, and the GSA Business Forum, which was part of the exhibition for the first time. Additional workshops and the new networking area NetWorks rounded off the programme.

Programme highlights: Wide range of topics and top-notch speakers

On five themed stages (the vision stage, safety & security stage, digital & events stage, acts on stage, not forgetting the start-up & innovation area) and with numerous sideshows and partner events, the boe international managed to effectively cover all the hot topics under discussion in the industry, once again confirming its role as a key industry forum for sharing knowledge, technological innovation, and exciting new concepts. Firmly embedded across the agenda as a topic of future importance, artificial intelligence received comprehensive coverage with plenty of opportunities for deep-diving in high-quality keynote addresses, practical hands-on sessions, and interactive formats.

 With its impressive line-up of big-name trendsetters, digital & events turned out to be one of the most popular stages. Christian Poell, Founder of INPROSA, demonstrated the strategic impact of AI event formats in his presentation “AI x Events – How Artificial Intelligence is Rethinking the Event World”. Colja Dams, CEO of VOK DAMS worldwide, shed light on prospective technologies under the heading “How digital doppelgangers are transforming live events”, while Thomas Kenyeri, CVO & Founder of KESCH – THE BRAND EXPERIENCE COMPANY, got to grips with all the latest developments in a presentation entitled “Event & Brand Experience Trend Report 2026”.

Others, including Pia Leimke, Business Development Manager Germany, Meeting & Events at American Express Global Business Travel shared their observations, with a research paper on the “Art + Science behind unforgettable events”, and Lea Sindel, PR, Events & Education Specialist at Metricool gave a true-to-life demonstration of how a “video-first” strategy can successfully dominate Reels, TikToks and Shorts.

The new format plAIground enjoyed great acclaim, with masterclasses offering hands-on experience demonstrating how artificial intelligence can accelerate event concepts and marketing processes, and open up new creative horizons. Other substantive highlights were, for example, the session dubbed “Prompt, don’t pitch: How AI can relieve and accelerate your event business” with Jan Götze, who specialises in AI scenarios for event and experience communication, and the intriguingly named interactive workshop “New KPIs for the industry! Key figures for exhibitors and event sponsors” with Juliane Jähnke, Managing Partner at agendum, and Jörg Zeisig, President of IFES / CEO of Holtmann

On the vision stage, Tristan Horx, international trend researcher, futurologist, and co-founder of The Future:Project, proffered his trenchant reflections with his “Guide to anger”, while Carlos Mats outlined the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on society and the economy in a talk headed “AGI (Artificial General Intelligence): The Last Invention of Humankind”. The programme was further enlivened by a panel discussion organised by the German Industrial Communications Association (bvik), where corporate and exhibition representatives deliberated about “Next Level B2B Live Communication: Exhibitions and Events as Matchmaking, Experience and Pipeline Platforms” . The discussion was hosted by Michaela-Susan Pollok, Head of Event Management & Social Media at bvik.

12 countries, over 400 brands: Sweeping market panorama

The event industry’s buyer-meets-seller forum impressed with a wide range of exhibitors with over 400 providers and brands from 12 countries, including China and Singapore, as well as enterprises from France, the UK, the Netherlands, and Austria. The number of international exhibitors rose for the third time in a row after regaining traction following the pandemic. Content on show ranged from event architecture and exhibition stand construction to event technology and IT, equipment and furnishings, digitalisation and AI, to venues, catering, acts, event services, logistics, and safety.

Perceptible boost for orientation and business

A representative survey saw visitor satisfaction steadily growing year-on-year with 88% of trade visitors already indicating their intention to attend the boe international next year. In particular, the range of innovations, trade fair débuts, and pioneering trends were met with positive acclaim, with visitors emphasizing their value-add for orientation and business. The survey also confirmed the presence of a high concentration of decision-makers with many visitors being directly involved in, or bearing responsibility for, purchasing and procurement. Exhibitors focused on the quality of the contacts, high stand frequencies, and the immediate business relevance of the many discussions. As Benedikt Augustin, Managing Director of rentitNOW GmbH, emphasised: “The boe international 2026 fair was a resounding success for us, with a noticeable increase in quality and a start-up & innovation area that attracted a new audience. That’s exactly the reason why this show is so strategically important to us. Nowhere else can you meet so many relevant players in the events industry in such a short time and get immediate feedback.” And Christian Haas, Head of Sales for Germany/Austria/Switzerland at OCTANORM®-Vertriebs-GmbH, explained further: “The boe international 2026 has been absolutely worthwhile from the word go. Our stand was pretty busy throughout, and the response from event organisers, agencies, and booth builders was excellent. We reached all three of our stated goals – customer acquisition, networking, and brand development – especially gratifying as we got to present and successfully position our new corporate design here for the first time. Talking to the many visitors has confirmed that the boe international was absolutely the right platform for our launch.”

“The boe international marked a strong start to the year for the entire events industry yet again in 2026, and for Aventem, it also got our 20th anniversary off to a flying start. We had lots of useful discussions with partners and customers, and also made some promising new contacts. So we’re looking forward to the boe 2027 all the more,” said Sebastian Rudolph, Director of Marketing & Sales at Aventem GmbH. Gerald Pott, Managing Director of Grand Hall Zollverein GmbH, stated: “The entire industry was gathered under one roof at the boe international 2026. For us, this was a great opening for fruitful discussion, including interaction with other exhibitors, service providers, and even rivals. The venue scores big time with its immediacy and easy access to sector expertise. You soon get talking and come away with a wealth of new ideas.”

Inspiration, knowledge, and AI impetus – well before and even after the show
Even beyond the exhibition proper, the digital trade fair magazine offered further useful insight into AI, including articles such as “From gut feeling to data logic: The impact of AI on marketing”, “From craftsmanship to high-tech: Exhibition stand construction 2030 – Visions, transformation and new opportunities”, as well as interviews with AI gurus Christian Poell and Patric Weiler, Vice President for Germany and Head of Strategy at American Express Meetings & Events. The trade fair magazine also features two enjoyable competitions by arrangement with the IST University of Applied Sciences and Estrel Berlin, which will be running through to 13 February 2026

BrandEx gold, silver and bronze awards for the best projects in the industry

The BrandEx Award ceremony marked the glittering highlight of the boe night again this year. Coveted trophies for outstanding brand experiences dating back to the previous year were awarded in Dortmund on the first evening of the show. The international jury had decided on the winners in a live session just a few hours earlier, and presented a total of 47 exceptional projects on the BrandEx stage.

2027 date now set Attention is already turning to next year’s boe international, which will be taking place at the Dortmund Exhibition Centre on 20 and 21 January 2027. With a packed programme line-up and a diversified portfolio of providers hailing from all the relevant branches of the event industry, the show is yet again set to be another unmissable highlight for professionals and indeed anyone with a vested interest in the industry.

All key information, updates and developments concerning the show can always be found on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, the show‘s website and via newsletter.