# Industry congresses 2026: what Leipziger Messe’s results show

Author: Marin Niehues, Stage Starter · Published: 2026-01-21
Topic: Finding Conferences (https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/topic/finding-conferences/)
Source: https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/industry-congresses-2026-leipziger-messe/

Industry congresses in 2026 exist in large numbers, as the annual results of [Leipziger Messe](https://www.leipziger-messe.de/de/nachrichten/leipziger-messe-bestaetigt-starken-wachstumskurs-im-geschaeftsjahr-2025) show: on 15 January 2026 the trade fair company reported for the 2025 financial year more than 195 trade fairs, congresses and events, at which more than one million visitors and more than 10,700 exhibitors came together. According to preliminary figures, group revenue exceeded 110 million euros, and according to the press release the Congresses division was a major part of the result. For 2026 Leipziger Messe announces more than 20 of its own trade and consumer events, along with more than 50 international projects and numerous congresses. For speakers this means that suitable industry congresses can be found in large numbers and that each event fills its programme in its own way, so a candidate list with organiser and deadline for each congress is worth building.

**Key points at a glance**
- On 15 January 2026 Leipziger Messe reported for 2025 more than 195 trade fairs, congresses and events, more than 10,700 exhibitors and more than one million visitors, more than in the record year 2024.
- According to preliminary figures, group revenue exceeded 110 million euros, which keeps it permanently above the 100 million euro mark.
- The Congresses division, with the Congress Center Leipzig and the KONGRESSHALLE am Zoo Leipzig, was a major part of the result according to the press release.
- For 2026 more than 20 of its own trade and consumer events and more than 50 international projects are planned at the sites in Leipzig, Karlsruhe, Munich and Hamburg.
- The press release names no call for proposals; which congresses are looking for speakers you clarify with each organiser individually.

## Leipziger Messe: the 2025 results with more than 195 trade fairs, congresses and events

Leipziger Messe Group published its figures for 2025 in a [press release dated 15 January 2026](https://www.leipziger-messe.de/de/nachrichten/leipziger-messe-bestaetigt-starken-wachstumskurs-im-geschaeftsjahr-2025). The figures are preliminary. The company reports a year in which more visitors came than in the record year 2024, and it describes group revenue of more than 110 million euros as permanently above the mark of 100 million euros. The Congresses division, which includes the Congress Center Leipzig and the KONGRESSHALLE am Zoo Leipzig, formed part of the result.

**Leipziger Messe, financial year 2025**
- over €110m | group revenue according to preliminary figures
- over 195 | trade fairs, congresses and events
- over 10,700 | exhibitors
- more than 1m | visitors

New in the portfolio in 2025, according to the release, were among others DIAM & DDM, the “You can! Fachkongress für Inklusion im Arbeitsleben” (a congress on inclusion in working life), the Apimondia World Beekeeping Congress, the immocation Festival and Solar Solutions Leipzig. The list shows how broad the topics of a single organiser are, from industrial valves to beekeeping. The release gives no figure for congresses alone, and the more than 195 events cover all formats together.

## Industry congresses in 2026: what the outlook of Leipziger Messe means for speakers

An industry congress is an event at which a professional community exchanges knowledge in talks and discussions, and in our view it usually belongs to an association or a professional society, as our article on [types of conference](/en/blog/types-of-conference/) describes. For 2026 Leipziger Messe names two anniversaries, 30 years of the new exhibition grounds in north Leipzig and 35 years of Leipziger Messe GmbH. At its four sites it plans more than 20 of its own trade and consumer events, along with more than 50 international projects and numerous congresses and guest events. The release contains no individual dates for 2026.

The term guest event deserves a second look. In our view it describes events run by other organisers that take place in the halls of the trade fair company, such as the congress of an association that uses a congress centre for two days and decides its programme and the deadlines for talk proposals itself. An association decides on talk proposals differently from a company. Anyone choosing industry congresses for 2026 will therefore usually find the right contact on the website of the individual event, where the submission details are given if the organiser is looking for talk proposals at all, and otherwise the contact address of the people responsible for the programme.

## A calculation for your list of industry congresses in 2026

A small calculation with open assumptions shows what the figure of 195 means for you. Suppose five per cent of the more than 195 events speak to the audience in your field, which makes around ten events in the orbit of a single trade fair company. Suppose further that at half of them a programme committee selects the talks, which leaves five candidates for a call for papers. The five per cent and the half are assumptions that you check for your own field.

A single trade fair company does not add up to an annual plan, so you need a list drawn from several sources. How many submissions an acceptance takes is worked out in our article [How many abstracts does it take to get accepted?](/en/blog/how-many-abstracts-to-submit-for-one-acceptance/), and the size of the market as a whole is described in [How many professional conferences are there in Germany?](/en/blog/how-many-professional-conferences-in-germany/). A call for papers is the public invitation with which a congress collects talk proposals, and every entry in your list should record whether such an invitation exists.

## What visitor figures from trade fair results mean for your talk

If you divide the more than one million visitors by the more than 195 events, you get roughly 5,000 visitors per event, and with more than 10,700 exhibitors roughly 55 per event. Both values are averages across formats that differ greatly, and they assume that every visitor attends only one event. They say nothing about an individual industry congress.

The results therefore give you a hint about how large the supply of stages is in a single event year, and they serve as a planning figure for your audience only if you compare the numbers with those of the individual congress. What matters for your talk is the number of people who sit in your track and face your questions in their daily work, and you learn that number from the organiser.

## Choosing industry congresses in 2026: five steps to a candidate list

1. Clarify the organiser: For each congress, check who runs it, whether an association, a trade fair company or a business, because the route to the stage depends on it.
2. Establish the selection process: Read up on whether there is a call for papers or whether the organiser invites its speakers, and note it in your list.
3. Check the audience: Visitor figures from annual results cover all events together, and you will find the guests of your congress on its own site. How to read the audience of a conference is shown in the article [Who sits in the audience at an industry conference?](/en/blog/audience-at-industry-conferences/).
4. Enter the deadline: Transfer the submission deadline to your calendar, and use the [call for papers calendar](/en/blog/call-for-papers-deadlines-calendar/) to see the deadlines of several conferences side by side.
5. Tailor the abstract for each congress: Write the abstract for the audience of the individual congress, so that the programme committee and the professional audience see at first glance what the talk delivers.

**Stage Starter and your candidate list**
Stage Starter is a speaker agency for experts from B2B fields. We research the conferences that suit your topic and your ideal clients, develop the talk with you and write several versions of the abstract for every call for papers. We then submit in your name, keep track of the deadlines and follow up with the organisers. Our founder Marin Niehues has received more than 100 invitations and has spoken at more than 50 conferences in 30 countries. In an [initial consultation](/en/erstgespraech/) we work out which stages and which formats suit you.

**With more than 195 events in a year, the results of Leipziger Messe show how many stages a single organiser runs, and for your industry congresses in 2026 what counts is which of them have your audience and fill their programme through a call for papers.**

**On 15 January 2026 Leipziger Messe reported more than 195 events for 2025 and announced more than 20 of its own events and more than 50 international projects for 2026. Anyone choosing industry congresses in 2026 for their talk clarifies for each event the organiser, the selection process, the audience and the deadline, and keeps these four details in a list of their own.**

## Frequently asked questions

### Where do I find industry congresses in 2026 for my talk?

You find industry congresses in 2026 on the event pages of trade fair companies and associations and in the calendars of platforms for calls for papers. Leipziger Messe reported more than 195 events for 2025 and plans more than 20 of its own trade and consumer events for 2026. Which of them are looking for speakers is stated in the call for papers of the individual congress.

### What is an industry congress?

An industry congress is an event at which a professional community exchanges knowledge in talks and discussions. In our view it usually belongs to an association or a professional society, unlike a trade fair, which primarily sells exhibition space.

### How many trade fairs, congresses and events did Leipziger Messe have in 2025?

According to the press release of 15 January 2026 there were more than 195 events, attended by more than 10,700 exhibitors and more than one million visitors. The figures are preliminary, and the release gives no separate figure for congresses alone.

### How can I tell whether a congress is looking for speakers?

A congress is looking for speakers if it publishes a call for papers, a public invitation for talk proposals, or if a programme committee evaluates submissions. If you find no call, ask the organiser how the programme comes about.

### When should I submit for industry congresses in 2026?

The deadline is stated in the call for papers of the individual congress and often lies months before the event. Enter every deadline in a shared calendar and start with the congresses whose call is already open.