Released by The Events Industry Alliance, the report assesses the size and scale index of the UK’s exhibitions industry.
The report found the four primary venues, NEC Birmingham, ExCeL, Olympia, and SEC, hosted 38 per cent of all exhibitions held in 2023. They hosted a higher proportion of trade exhibitions – 49 per cent. Ian Taylor, managing director for exhibitions at the NEC Group said: “It’s hugely promising that the UK’s exhibition industry continues to showcase growth and resilience. The trade generated from the thousands of exhibitions that take place every year across the UK proves that that our industry is a successful, key driver of economic activity.
The scale of the exhibition sector continues to grow with the number of exhibiting companies per event up 16 per cent and 51 per cent of exhibitions held at primary venues were 8,000 sq metres or more in size.