Major events, Italy is third in Europe and growing by 8%
Study by the Fiera Milano Foundation: Lombardy's capital city ranks first for economics and science events. In Italy 397 events, 13% of the total
On the eve of one of the biggest events that a country can host - the Winter Olympics that will start on Friday - a study by Fondazione Fiera Milano and Aseri (Alta scuola di economia e relazioni internazionali dell'Università Cattolica) confirms the centrality of Italy, and in particular of the city of Milan, in the sector of large events. With 397 events registered in 2024, our country concentrates 13% of the 3,057 large association or corporate events registered in Europe, gaining the third place, behind Germany and France, and recording an increase of 8% compared to 2023.
Milan, in particular, with 90 events in 2024 is third among cities, behind London and Paris, but holds the record for the number of events in three segments: Economics, Management and Science. Rome is in seventh place in terms of attractiveness, with 57 events, and takes the podium in the Science (second place) and Medical Science (third place) segments.
The sector in Europe
The Report 'Europe's Large Association and Corporate Events 2025' looks at large association and corporate events with at least 1,000 participants, either in presence or in hybrid format, and testifies to the health of the European sector, which concentrates 57% of the sector worldwide and recorded a 7% increase in 2024 compared to 2023 and a 17% increase compared to 2019, thus showing a clear growth compared to the pre-pandemic period. It is a very concentrated sector: 88% of the events were held in 15 countries and just nine cities hosted 963 events, with an average of 107 each.
Sixty-two per cent of events are hosted in conference centres and trade fair venues, while hotels host nine per cent. In terms of content, corporate events focus mainly on the technology (31%) and trade (28%) sectors. Non-corporate events, on the other hand, deal mainly with medical (34%) or humanities-related topics (16%). On average, only 17% of corporate events have a European or global rotation, whereas for non-corporate events this incidence is higher at 26%.
Milan and Lombardy lead
"Milan, Lombardy and Italy have a central role in Europe in this sector," said Giovanni Bozzetti, president of Fondazione Fiera, "but we can do better: we have all the cards in hand to overtake Germany and France. To succeed, however, we must work in a system logic, connecting institutions, companies, universities and research centres. In this sense, Fondazione Fiera Milano plays a strategic role because it does not limit itself to creating spaces, but builds ecosystems capable of generating development'. Because the so-called 'Meeting Industry' is a true 'enabling infrastructure', which not only generates wealth for the territory, but also promotes knowledge and innovation, adds Bozzetti.
