UFI celebrates 100 years of the trade fair industry

A century of the exhibition industry, globally connected since 1925. In 2025, the World Association of the Exhibition Industry will look back on 100 years of association history. The anniversary will be celebrated worldwide with events, projects and impulses for the future of the exhibition industry.

The anniversary year has a motto that focuses on the triad of past, present and future. Conferences, special formats and social media campaigns with the hashtag #ufi100 are planned around the world. A traveling exhibition and digital retrospectives will show the development of the trade fair industry over the decades.

International award and competition programs, with which the association recognizes outstanding achievements within the trade fair industry, are a fixed component. The UFI Awards have been established and internationally recognized for over a decade and in the anniversary year 2025, awards will again be presented in various categories of the industry. In the areas of:

• Digital Innovation
• Human Resources Management (HR Award)
• Industry partners, marketing
• Operations and services
• Sustainable development

With the Next Generation Leadership (NGL) program, UFI specifically supports young professionals in the trade fair industry. The focus is on innovative event formats and strategic development. A new UFI website and additional digital tools are designed to offer members more service, knowledge and networking.

The 92nd UFI World Congress in Hong Kong will bring the anniversary year to a festive close. International experts from the trade fair industry will meet there to celebrate what has been achieved and actively shape the future of the industry.

EuroShop is also celebrating a milestone: from February 22 to 26, 2026, EuroShop – the Global Retail Festival – will be celebrating its 60th anniversary. Since its premiere in 1966, it has developed into an international platform for future-oriented retail solutions and has shown how closely trade fairs and markets are linked. It also demonstrates how the trade fair and event industry is constantly reinventing itself at the intersection of technology, design and communication. In the “Expo & Event Marketing” dimension, EuroShop presents how companies use creative trade fair appearances, live communication and temporary architecture to showcase their brands emotionally. For many exhibitors and service providers in the trade fair industry, this presentation area is a central showcase for their innovative strength.

Source: UFI Press release