Expo City emerges as global events hub

INTERNATIONAL SUMMITS AND EXPANDING CAPACITY POSITION VENUE AS STRIONG DRIVER OF DUBAI'S MICE ECONOMY

- BY JUSTIN GEORGE Your Money Editor

Expo City Dubai aims to convert footfall into long-term economic activity across tourism, exhibitions and investment-led events.

Expo City Dubai is sharpening its role as a commercial events hub after closing a year that saw more than 75 international gatherings and hundreds of thousands of visitors, as preparations accelerate for a heavier 2026 calendar alongside the expanding Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC).

The city's programming increasingly reflects its business-first positioning, spanning government summits, sustainability forums, trade-linked cultural events and large-scale consumer activations. Together, they underline Expo City's push to convert footfall into long-term economic activity across tourism, exhibitions and investment-led events.

Sholto Douglas-Home, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Expo City Dubai, said 2026 will focus on reinforcing Dubai's standing in the global meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market, supported by Expo City's infrastructure, location and the growing scale of DEC.

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