Theme and key pillars announced for GED 2024

The ninth edition of Global Exhibitions Day (GED), facilitated by UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, will be held on 5 June 2024 under the theme ‘Exhibitions are catalysts to sustainable futures’. Celebrated annually on the first Wednesday of June, all interested in increasing the visibility of the exhibitions industry regionally and on a global scale are invited to participate.

The GED 2024 theme reinforces the role of exhibitions as platforms to bring people together face-to- face to connect, collaborate on global solutions aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and drive progress for economies worldwide.

Key campaign pillars

Four key messages underpin this year’s theme, including:

  • Exhibitions drive progress: Exhibitions are platforms to discuss, create and showcase solutions to our universal challenges
  • Exhibitions facilitate economic growth: Exhibitions are engines of economic growth, connecting industries and driving job creation.
  • Exhibitions are sustainable: Exhibitions are a sustainable way to drive business and development, gathering communities in one place and managing our environmental impact
  • Exhibitions connect people: Exhibitions are community builders, bringing people together face-to-face to connect, collaborate and contribute.

UFI president, Geoff Dickinson, comments: “The significance of this year's Global Exhibitions Day theme on sustainability cannot be overstated. Exhibitions are indeed catalysts to sustainable futures, and the time is now for us to come together as an industry on 5 June 2024 to show that. I look forward to celebrating GED 2024 and invite all my colleagues and friends from around the world to do the same.”

How you can get involved

Resources and tools to help you celebrate GED 2024 can be found on the official event website, www.globalexhibitionsday.org. Some ideas on how to get involved include:

  • Organise your own GED 2024 initiative and add them to the GED website
  • Ask your government officials for endorsement and recognition of the exhibition industry
  • Share your GED activities through social media with the hashtag #GED2024
  • Download the toolkit on the GED website and customise your own visuals using the GED logo or ‘Voices of the Industry’ card
  • Download and share the ‘Global Economic Impact of Exhibitions’ infographic from the GED website to highlight the relevance of our industry globally and regionally.
  • Share GED 2024 theme and core messages with local media to increase awareness.