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Programme

AEO Conference 2026

The annual AEO Conference brings together key players within the events industry and offers networking, insight and motivation. With an outstanding speaker line-up delivering inspirational, dynamic and thought-provoking content, the AEO Conference is a fantastic platform from which to debate, learn and share ideas that can help shape your organisation and the industry.

 

The event attracts more than 300 senior industry professionals from the UK and abroad, from organisers to venues and suppliers, creating an unmissable opportunity to network in a relaxed environment.

The conference is geared towards senior event professionals: managing directors, portfolio directors, SME directors, group MDs, heads of departments.
Please note, the content is subject to change.

Dare to win

Real winning rarely follows the script. AI is reshaping how we work, economies are shifting and change is coming from every direction - and with it, real opportunity.

"Dare to win" is about meeting that head on. Backing bold ideas, building cultures where people thrive, and learning from those who've launched, scaled and evolved - people who moved when opportunity showed up, uncertainty and all.

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03 Sept 2026
  1. Sponsored by:  Messe Frankfurt.
  2. Yoga disclaimer: A health and safety disclaimer will be provided on the morning, and will need to be signed ahead of participation.

    Mats: Please note, mats are limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Otherwise, we encourage attendees to bring their own to join in the fun.

    Please note, this is an optional session.

    Sponsored by Messe Frankfurt.

  3. Arrivals, badge collection, and welcome refreshments.

    Sponsored by: Fusion by ClearCourse

  4. The AEO Conference chair will welcome the audience and give a rundown of what's in store for the day. 
  5. Sustaining extraordinary performance in an industry built around apex moments

    Three days of brilliance, twelve months in the making. That's an apex moment - and our industry runs on them. There's no off-season, because before the carpet even comes up, next year's show is already selling.

    The best events leave people wanting more. The best organisations create the conditions to deliver that feeling again and again. The real challenge is building teams with the energy, confidence and support to rise to every new show.

    In this keynote, Dr Pippa Grange explores the performance between performances: planning recovery as carefully as you plan the floorplan, creating the conditions your people do their best work in, and building a culture that sustains success when the next deadline is already on the horizon.

    The best encores are earned long before the audience asks for one.

    Sponsored by: Deutsche Messe

  6. The events industry knows how to deliver under pressure. But are some of the behaviours we celebrate actually helping us perform at our best?

    Following her keynote, Dr Pippa Grange turns the conversation over to some of the industry’s next generation of leaders. Together, they’ll examine the realities of performing in a world fuelled by big ambitions and high-stakes moments.

    Does constantly operating at full throttle really bring out our best? Can leaders admit when they don’t have all the answers? And as the next generation takes on greater influence, what might they choose to do differently?

    A chance to question some of the unwritten rules of working in events and consider what it will take to keep winning, long after the adrenaline wears off.

  7. A chance to pause, recharge and reconnect with fellow attendees.
  8. You've bought the licences. Your team is using them. So why can't you point to what changed?

    Three organisers open the books. What happened when AI made the sales calls. What it costs in engineering time to get one use case working properly. Why one operator started hiring AI-native graduates and teaching them the industry, rather than the other way round. And what all this looks like running across ninety shows.

    You'll leave with:

    • Real conversion numbers from AI outreach, including the parts that flopped
    • A way to build value one use case at a time, with the effort properly costed
    • The conditions checklist: what has to be true in your business before any of this works
    • A clear view on whether AI is buying you time, value, or neither
    Sponsored by: UptakeAI
  9. Cannes Lions has spent 73 years deciding what to protect and what to let go.
     

    What began as an awards show for ad agencies now pulls together creativity, brands, media, technology and culture - with an influence that spreads well beyond the Palais and across the whole of Cannes.
     

    Getting there meant some uncomfortable decisions. In 2018, with major holding companies pulling back and the industry questioning the festival's value, Cannes cut three days from its programme and culled award categories. How much do you protect the core event? When do you embrace the fringe growing up around it? And how do you keep creating value as your market shifts beneath you?
     

    The real question for any organiser: how do you make people feel they have to be there?

  10. Refreshments and informal conversation.
  11. Exploring what sits behind sustained growth: the leadership, culture, and behaviours that create organisations capable of scaling. A candid conversation with Louise White & Gareth Bowhill, about how leadership evolves as businesses grow, what entrepreneurialism really means at different stages of scale, and the lessons they have learnt along the way.

    Sponsored by: Collingwood

  12. Sales has always been the engine of the events industry. But in just a few years we've moved from spreadsheets and cold calls to AI, predictive analytics and hyper-personalisation. Has technology fundamentally changed what makes a great salesperson - or are the fundamentals exactly the same? Today we'll explore what it takes to build fearless sales teams that don't just survive change but use it to win.

  13. In an industry increasingly dominated by corporates and private equity, has playing it safe become the biggest risk of all? Join us for a candid fireside chat with Doug Emslie, an entrepreneur who spent 25 years building a business from the back of a taxi to a billion-dollar exit - and who believes the secret to winning is refusing to be normal.

    From attitudes to risk and staying motivated through adversity, to the lessons he'd tell his younger self, this is an honest, practical conversation about keeping entrepreneurship alive. He'll also share how he's backing the next generation through Manta, investing time as well as capital.
  14. A sharp, strategic recap of the day’s key messages-and where we go from here.
  15. As the AEO Conference draws to a close, join us for an exclusive evening celebrating the NEC's 50th anniversary.

    Created exclusively for AEO Conference attendees, this festival-inspired celebration is the perfect way to round off the day with great food, drinks, live entertainment and the chance to connect with organisers, partners and industry friends in a relaxed setting.

    It's also an opportunity to discover more about the Nation's Experience Capital, explore what's new across the venue and see how the NEC continues to evolve as one of the UK's leading destinations for world-class events.

    Please note, this event will take place outside on grass. Suitable footwear should be worn.

Testimonials

  • The AEO Conference is an important forum because it brings together change makers in the event industry, I'm also looking forward to networking with some great people as well.
    Raphael Sofoluke
    Founder & CEO, UK Black Business Show
  • The AEO Conference has always been a really important forum, it talks about some of the kind of key topics and trends and certainly as I've sort of developed throughout my career it's always topics around mergers and acquisitions or where the industry is going or the pivot to digital it's always given us really good talking points and things to think about.
    Duncan Reid
    CEO & Co-Founder, Reset Connect
  • The conference was a fantastic experience, truly living up to its theme 'Motivate. Innovate. Create.' The speakers were highly engaging and entertaining, offering invaluable insights into key industry topics. Well done, Team AEO!
    Ian Kidson
    Harrogate Convention Centre

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