Olympics Fuel Optimism as Top European Event Agencies Eye Strong 2026

Executives at four major European event agencies told Skift Meetings they are planning for a strong year ahead — but not for a single, shared reason. Their optimism is built on different pillars, including managing colossal rooming logistics at the Winter Games, AI innovation, diversification, incubating proprietary events and year-round education products, and driving organic growth in stable sectors.

One common factor is a strong commitment to sustainability, even if the EU is rolling back on some of its commitments. Sustainability achievements are top and center for all annual reports published. “We’re committed, we don’t have a KPI for that, but we’re committed because we know we’re going to be a better business,” said MCI Group CEO Sebastien Tondeur. Kenes Group recently hired a head of sustainability and expects to measure its Scope 3 emissions by 2027 and measure the carbon footprint of half of the events it manages.

AIM Group: Olympics Housing Contract Delivers Strong Start to 2026

For Italy-headquartered AIM Group International, the most visible tailwind is its accommodation management contract with the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation for athletes, staff, and stakeholders. AIM says it began work in September 2023 on an operational system spanning multiple host districts. The company cites more than 1,200 contracted accommodation facilities, 26,000 guaranteed rooms, and 375,000 room nights managed.

The record-breaking geographical dispersion of the Milano Cortina Games, which covers an area of more than 8,500 square miles of Northern Italy, makes this task especially challenging. 

The company — which has around 300 staff operating from 13 offices in nine EU countries — will be looking to improve on its 2024 financial results, which dipped slightly from $114 million (€96 million) in revenue in 2023 to $111 million (€94 million) in 2024. EBITDA also dropped from $3.8 million (€3.2 million) to $2,9 million (€2.5 million) in the same period.

MCI Group: Diversification, Volume, and Incremental AI Gains

MCI Group, one of the largest global event companies with almost 2,000 employees, generates about half its revenue in Europe. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the company reported a profit of $677 million (€575 million) in 2024, with an EBITDA of $40.1 million (€34.8 million), according to its 2024 annual report. Tondeur expects to beat that marginally for 2025, despite its French office having a softer year, following a bumper 2024 driven by the Paris Summer Olympics. Its German office also reported softness linked to a slowdown in the automotive industry, but strong results from pharmaceutical and luxury sector clients made up for the regional shortcomings.

The company continues to be acquisitive, with a new financial partner already helping in Belgium and the UK, following expansions in Mexico and Colombia last year. It is actively looking to grow its U.S. corporate market share.

MCI is also leaning into artificial intelligence, mostly as an internal operational accelerator, with Tondeur saying overall internal usage jumped from 30% to 98% in the space of 12 months. “We continue to invest. We’re totally certain that it will create productivity gains.” Externally, its U.S. subsidiary launched “Jade,”  an audio AI agent integrated into its registration and housing platform.

Kenes Group: Revenue Diversification Via Startup-Style Events and AI Products

The Swiss-headquartered professional conference organizer is projecting a strong 2026. Its most recent report underlines the scale it already runs: operating in 55 countries across six regions, organizing 121 events in 2024. 

With a client list built almost exclusively of long-term medical association relationships. The company’s been actively looking to diversify its revenue sources. Its main bet is on its Original Events, an initiative that launches proprietary events in a startup-style approach, meaning it can start small, test the waters, and scale across sectors as events mature. If events prove successful, they are moved into the company’s PCO business unit, allowing the startup team to focus on new events. Speaking to Skift Meetings, Kenes CEO Ori Lahav did not reveal the share of revenue from original events, but said it is growing and an important R&D vehicle. ICV – Lymphocyte Engineering is an example of an event that recently graduated to the PCO business unit after five editions, and is demonstrating steady profitability. 

Kenes has also invested in a digital learning platform, a complementary offering targeted at medical and life sciences associations that provides continuous, tightly regulated education. The company is seeing more revenue from these services, but the numbers are still small, Lahav sees it as a “must do activity.” 

The company also offers its clients proprietary AI tools like an AI abstract assistant, and has built an internal-use AI tool that reads and compares contracts to specific sets of criteria.

Looking ahead, Lahav said 2026 is projected to be one of the best years ever, and is looking for opportunities to grow the company through inorganic means.

Congrex Switzerland: Steady Organic Growth

Congrex Switzerland is taking a more conservative route to 2026 optimism: focus, structure, and organic growth. The company has doubled its headcount to 80 full-time employees, up from 40 before the Covid pandemic. With a stable structure stemming from a 2013 management buyout, the company recently announced a significant shift at the management level, with two new team members joining its top management team. 

With a client list split between Swiss association events and full management of 10 European medical associations, the company operates in a largely stable market. Still, Congrex Chief Commercial Officer Silvano Schär revealed concern about instability driven by geopolitical uncertainty. “It’s changing weekly, and yes, this uncertainty is something we can feel.”