News
BELGIUM – Event Confederation and the Belgian event sector
What began in 2020 with a temporary Alliance of Belgian Event Federations, to join forces during the corona crisis, was perpetuated shortly afterwards in the creation of Event Confederation. During the corona crisis, many event professionals and organisations suffered major losses. Joining forces was the only way to be heard as an event industry. Today, the event sector in Belgium is sailing in somewhat calmer waters, but there are still plenty of challenges to be tackled by a united sector. To do this, the umbrella organisation for the Belgian event sector has scaled up its pace.
Event Confederation manager Christine Merckx explains: “Since our start in 2020, during the corona crisis, the focus of our operation was crisis management and the survival of our industry. Only in the past year, we could focus on the future of the event sector. That strategic thinking led us to become a true membership organisation since the beginning of 2025, where not only federations can become members but also individual organisations, suppliers, freelancers, cities and municipalities. Uniting all suppliers – who supply more than 50% of their turnover to events – and event organisers not only provides a larger network, but also shorter lines to policymakers and more opportunities for knowledge sharing.”
The ambition of Event Confederation
Event Confederation is the umbrella organisation that unites, represents, defends and informs the broad event sector in Belgium. To represent the broad interests of this sector, Event Confederation wants to be structurally visible and be the first point of contact for event professionals, policymakers, researchers, media and the public. The confederation does not ride for one particular group within one particular region, they want to be the voice for everyone active in the event sector.
Members can turn to Event Confederation for advice, information, promotion, learning and networking opportunities. To this end, the activities are bundled in four service centres:
- lobby centre for representing the interests of event professionals and organisations
- knowledge centre for expertise, in-depth dossier knowledge and relevant (research) data
- communication centre for targeted, fast and up-to-date information and knowledge sharing
- entrepreneurial centre for tailor-made advice, to expand your network and for lifelong learning
In everything they do, Event Confederation strives for official and full recognition of the event sector in Belgium with attractive terms of employment, in which event professionals increasingly unite to be more powerfully heard and supported in their further professionalisation and impactful growth.
Event Confederation’s range of services
The service of Event Confederation is wide-ranging, targeting everyone in the Belgian event sector. A basic service is offered with weekly news updates, access to an elaborate knowledge platform, and bi-monthly sector calls on relevant legislation and developments. There is also a comprehensive cluster service operation that specifically addresses the needs within certain subsectors, such as the clusters public events, event agencies, congresses and exhibitions, cities and municipalities. Not only the organisers of events are divided into clusters, also the event suppliers. The suppliers are divided into following clusters: technical support, non-technical support, venues, crew and catering. The service offer also includes internal working groups, network meetings, a yearly national event congress and exclusive membership discounts on events, trainings, advertisements and other services.
National coverage and academy
Event Confederation tries to ensure the national spread of event professionals in its operation. “This is quite a challenge, especially as the number of professionals in Flanders is larger than in Wallonia and Brussels. Nevertheless, a national spread is important, especially to convince policymakers. After all, we not only have to sit down with the federal government, but also with the three regional governments in our country.” To support this national cohesion, Event Confederation also wants to continue to expand its academy offer. “Our academy has grown tremendously. What started as a simple page with free webinars is now a vast knowledge platform accessible exclusively to our members as from this year onwards. In 2024, we organised a dozen webinars on topics such as innovation, flexi-jobs, sustainability and safety. We also offer practical guides, checklists and research reports, including the results of our quarterly sector surveys and public surveys. The platform continues to expand so that we remain responsive to the needs of the sector.”
Data-driven eventsector
Backing up our industry’s evolutions and challenges with up-to-date data is a priority, according to Event Confederation. The latest sector survey results from January 2025 showed that 2024 was a good year for a lot of organisations in the Belgian event sector. Unfortunately, high costs are putting pressure on profit margins and the economic turmoil is causing hesitation and procrastination. Only one in four professionals indicate that the profit of the organisation they (most) work for increased in 2024 compared to 2023. 16% indicate a decrease in profit. For 2025, not many more professionals expect an increase compared to 2024. 14% even expect a fall in profits. The ever-rising wage costs play an important role in this evolution.
Events are in the Belgian’s DNA
Despite the concerns and the fact that many events organisations’ profit margins are under pressure, 60% of professionals are confident that 2025 will be a good year for the Belgian event sector. The research results of the audience survey conducted in January 2025 among a representative sample of 1,000 Belgians learned that 72% attended one or more events the past year. Not only public events were visited. 39% also visited one of the many corporate events. 54% of the Belgians hope that in 2025 more events will be organised in their neighbourhood and 40% even plan to visit even more in 2025 than in 2024. Both on the supply as on the demand side, many are confident in a positive future. And that is what the event sector needs: confidence and a big dose of perseverance, especially when it is in choppy waters.
For more information, contact the manager and spokesperson of Event Confederation: Christine Merckx | christine@event-confederation.be | +32 473 692 184 | www.event-confederation.be