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Summary of our market study
The French event organization market is estimated at between 5 and 6 billion euros.
Over 1,200 trade fairs and exhibitions are organized every year, attracting between 20 and 25 million visitors
85-90% of customers are companies. Private individuals make up around 5-10%, and public authorities around 5-10%.
Corporate and institutional events attract some 70 to 80 million participants, including some 5 to 10 million international attendees, generating economic spin-offs in the order of 15 to 25 billion euros.
Large-scale events such as the Rugby World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games play a central role.
The Paris region is home to some 450 companies in this sector. Most of the events organized by these agencies are meetings and seminars.
The global market for event management agencies is estimated at over $1,200 billion. European sales for 2022 amounted to $375 billion.
French event industry players
- GL Event, France's leading event organizer
- Eventive
- Gala Galore
- Fiesta Facilitators
- Summit Strategies
- RewardRetreats
- Launchpad Legends
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Detailed content of our market study
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and presentation
An event management agency is responsible for imagining and planning a project right through to its completion. Given the wide range of skills required for this mission, the agency usually calls on other specialized service providers, such as caterers, lighting designers, sound engineers, entertainers and decorators, with whom it works closely. An event agency can be either a generalist or specialize in a particular field (wedding planner, team building...)
The main reasons for using an event management agency are as follows:
- High-quality services, highly qualified staff, high added value
- A fixed budget
- Services tailored to your requirements and event objectives
- A replacement plan in case of last-minute unforeseen events.
The global market is growing, and is expected to evolve at a compound annual growth rate of 11.8% between 2022 and 2032.the French market has returned to its pre-crisis-covid level in 2022, and is expected to show even stronger growth in 2023, reaching higher sales than before the crisis.
French event agencies need to adapt to changes in demand, particularly with the digitalization of events. They must also succeed in adapting to different types of customer, since demand is not the same for professional or private clients.
The sector is also marked by major global events such as the Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
1.2 The global market
In ****, the size of the events industry market was estimated at $**** billion, according to Market Research Future. This market should continue to evolve positively over the next few years, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of **.**% over the period ****-**** . These data enable us to estimate sales for the coming ...
1.3 The European market
In ****, sales in the European events market were estimated at $***.** billion. This market is expected to continue to grow over the next few years at a CAGR of **.*% , reaching $***.** billion in ****.
Sales trends in the European events market Europe, ****-****, billions of dollars Source: ****
on a European scale, the events market ...
1.4 The French market
Most event management agencies fall under NAF code ****Z "Organisation of trade fairs, exhibitions and congresses". In order to better understand the figures provided below, here is the detailed content of this NAF code[***]
NAF code ****Z includes:
the organization, promotion and/or management of events, such as trade shows, conventions, ...
1.5 A market in full transformation after the Covid-19 crisis
A drastic drop in business
By bringing event agencies to a standstill for almost ** months, with a **% drop in sales, the crisis of the Covid-** epidemic was particularly harsh. However, the government aid that began at the end of **** saved many agencies: by spring ****, the number of bankruptcies was "only" **%, compared ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Customer types
According to UNIMEV (***). Before the health crisis, all these events welcomed nearly ** million participants, including nearly * million foreigners, and generatedand generated €** billion in economic spin-offs for the events industry. [***]
In ****, more than *,*** trade fairs and exhibitions will be held in France, welcoming ** million participants, including ***,*** exhibiting companies[***]
Who are the customers ...
2.2 Business demand: B2B
Companies are the main customers of event agencies (***).
The return of corporate confidence in events :
According to the HBAA survey in ****, **% of events professionals are seeing an increase in corporate confidence in events. Demand is then more driven to book dates, venues, logistics and planners. [***]
In this return to confidence, **% of ...
2.3 MICE demand trends
The term MICE, short for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions, refers to a specific sector of business tourism that focuses on the organization and management of corporate events. This field encompasses a variety of activities designed to foster collaboration, motivate teams, exchange information and present products or services.
Meetings provide a platform ...
2.4 Consumer demand: B2C
Although they account for a smaller proportion of our clientele,private individuals can also use event agencies for special occasions such as weddings, birthdays or christenings.
To illustrate this, this section looks at the demand for event agencies for weddings.
Weddings in France:
Weddings are particularly important events in the event ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Market value chain
Below is a simplified event organization value chain. It should be noted that many of the services offered by external providers are sometimes internalized by event organizers, who have a diversified offering.
Source: ****
3.2 How is an event agency organized?
An event management agency, whatever its size, has many tasks when organizing an event for its customer: choosing the venue, decoration, catering, entertainment, photography and sound. For this, the agency itself must be highly organized.
For a classic event, here's how an event agency works[***] :
Drawing up specifications that define the ...
3.3 Number of event agencies in France and geographical breakdown
Growth in the number of event agencies: Growth in the number of establishments registered under NAF code ****Z France, ****-****, number of establishments Source: ****
Over the period ****-****, the number of establishments rose steadily, from **** in **** to **** in ****, an increase of **%. This steady increase indicates a growing interest in the event ...
3.4 Market leaders and new entrants
In France, there are a large number of event management agencies, each with a small workforce averaging * people. Nevertheless, we can identify some major leaders in the event agency market.
Sales (***) of the main event industry players, in the Fairs & Exhibitions and Conventions segments France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****
GL ...
3.5 Events: a sector for the future?
A study by Sandrine Christon-Pain, founder of Shape Your Com, looks at the future of the event industry. *** future event industry professionals completed the survey between December **** and February ****. They come from ** different schools and universities. [***]
The survey results clearly show that **% of future professionals still think it's a sector with ...
3.6 But a sector that has difficulty recruiting
In the wake of the health crisis, which had a profound impact on the events industry and led to major economic losses, players in this sector are now facing major recruitment challenges. With the economic upturn in ****, the number of vacancies has intensified considerably, with recruitment needs in **** representing **% of the ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 The different services offered by agencies
An agency can offer a multitude of services: road shows, trade fairs, seminars, training courses, company parties, business trips... These events can be used for a company's external communications.
Here's a summary table of the main types of event that an event management company can organize:
Source: ****
4.2 Event agency rates
The graph below shows that prices for trade show organization services (***) rose sharply in **** and again in ****, following lower prices for the period ****-**** at the time of the health restrictions, when few events were being organized. Prices peaked in Q* ****.
Price index for trade show organization services France, ****-****, base ...
4.3 Innovating and digitizing our offering
For Vaibhav Jain, CEO of Hubilo (***), the pandemic represents the realization of the limits and inflexibility of physical events and the event market.[***]With health measures, restrictions and telecommuting, companies have realized the value of digital events. As a result, event professionals have developed creative ideas to capitalize on this opportunity. ...
4.4 More sustainable and responsible events
Organizing a green event, even if it's a hybrid one, means taking environmental issues into account. In fact,the events sector is considered to be highly polluting, with travel and consumption linked to meetings, team-building or company seminars.
According toUFI, the global association of the events industry, **% of event participants agree ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Legislation
Declaration of commercial events :
The system for declaring commercial events was introduced in ****.Article R***-* reads as follows
"The application for registration of an exhibition centre is sent electronically by its operator to the prefect of the département in which its facilities are located. If the exhibition centre ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Player segmentation
- GL Events
- Comexposium France
- Infopro Digital Groupe
- Chateauform'
- Capdel (Hopscotch Groupe)
- HOPSCOTCH Groupe
- Breykevent
- Novelty Magnum Dushow Groupe
- Videlio
- FL Entertainment - Banijay
- Paris Society (Accor groupe)
- Imagina
- AEG Anschutz
- Alive Groupe
- Delight Data
- Kactus
- The Independents group
- Télégramme Groupe
- Mazarine groupe
- Marcadé Evenementiel
- We Love Art Agency - WLA Events
List of charts presented in this market study
- Trends in the size of the events market
- Number of event venues by continent
- Average venue size by continent
- Sales trends in the European events market
- Distribution of customers in the European market
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Latest news
Audiovisual: Trévise Participations takes control of Videlio - 27/06/2024
- - Videlio's specialties: Installation and management of videoconferencing rooms, Events, Broadcast (construction of fixed or mobile control rooms, post-production)
- - Year of backing by Hivest Capital Partners: since 2021
- - New shareholder : Trévise Participations, family office of the Noisiez family
- - Reinvestment: Hivest and Talis (historical shareholder)
- - Videlio workforce: 1,000, 700 in France
- - Sales in 2023: 358 million euros
- - Share of international business: Nearly 40%
- - Market: Audiovisual equipment for cruise ships, with over two-thirds market share.
- - Number of customers : Over 8,000, including 40% of CAC 40 companies
- - Objectives of Trévise's investment: External growth in Europe, technological breakthrough, maintaining its position as a leading player in the cruise ship segment.
Events: Marcadé opens up its capital to expand internationally - 02/04/2024
- Year of creation: 1989.
- Number of events organized per year: Around thirty.
- Annual sales: Some twenty million euros.
- Sales in 2021: 8.5 million euros.
- The Franco-Chinese investment fund Trail Capital has just announced that it is acquiring a stake in Marcadé.
- Growth objective: triple sales in five years.
- Subsidiaries in the United States, Monaco and Shanghai.
- Plans to acquire a company in Dubai and interest in the US market.
Paris Society to open its largest restaurant in September with Viparis - 12/03/2024
- The next restaurant to be opened by Paris Society will have a capacity of 400 covers, including 200 indoors and 200 in a 4,000 square metre restaurant.
- - Paris Society now has 65 establishments.
- - Paris Society's sales are set to rise from 225 million euros in 2022 to 290 million in 2023.
- - Paris Society employs 4,000 people, including 3,000 on permanent contracts.
Dynamic in 2023, the owner of producer Banijay continues to weave his web - 08/03/2024
- The company continued to increase growth in its two core activities - audiovisual production and sports betting - and expanded its business with two acquisitions in the events sector in 2023.
- In 2023, FL Entertainment generated sales of 4.5 billion euros, an increase of 8.5%
- betclic, its sports betting division, recorded revenues close to one billion euros in 2023, an increase of 19% year-on-year.
- The number of Betclic online players has increased by 54% since 2022.
- Banijay's revenues from streaming platforms have increased by 75% since 2022
- Online casino games have seen particularly strong growth of 48%, followed by horse betting (+33%) and poker (+23%).
- These key figures can help assess the company's performance, the growth of different segments and potential market opportunities.
Olympic Games, Stade de France, Grand Palais Ephémère: GL events' hot projects - 07/03/2024
- GL Events was founded 46 years ago
- In 2023, GL Events has sales of over 1.4 billion euros, up 9%.
- Sales in the Exhibitions division jumped 51% to 210 million euros.
- Venues sales rose by 21 points to 393 million euros.
- Sales in the Live division stagnated at 824 million euros.
- GL Events has subsidiaries in 20 countries.
- France accounts for more than half of GL Events' sales.
- Several projects linked to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will generate sales of 300 million euros.
- GL Events manages a number of venues, including Lyon's 35,000-seat Matmut Stadium, Rio's 18,000-seat Arena, those in Reims and Orléans, and the Zeniths in Clermont-Ferrand and Orléans.
Novelty Magnum Dushow: Equipping more and more shows - 07/03/2024
- the entertainment company supplies sound and light equipment and know-how to France's biggest festivals and concert halls,
- the company won a tender to help organize the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on the banks of the Seine
- Business is increasingly concentrated in the Paris region, at the Adidas Arena at Porte de la Chapelle in Paris and the Grand Paris Arena in Tremblay-en-France (Seine-Saint-Denis).
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The market of event agencies | France
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