Top Tech Events and Conferences 2026
The tech world is STACKED with events, conferences and trade shows. Knowing which ones to attend, why and expected returns is a challenge we all face at some point during the year. Here, Mike, Rahme, Simon, and Louay discuss the local events they will be recommending during 2026.
Mike Sottak, Wired Island (US)
“Events are necessary evils. I love them and hate them at the same time. CES and Mobile World Congress are becoming so big and unwieldy, but you kind of must be there.
The smaller, more specialised shows are more interesting and more effective for us as PR people. This aligns with the personalisation and specialisation trend. I’d rather go to a show laser-focused on energy consumption in the data center – something that will be talked about at CES or MWC, but alongside a hundred other things.
At CES, from a PR standpoint, you’re fighting for oxygen – thousands of companies making thousands of announcements to the same thousand media people.
Our clients are more niche-oriented and specialised. Specialised shows align better with our communications strategies.
My advice is: dig into where the “water coolers” are in your specific niche. CES, Mobile World Congress, Web Summit – they get all the headlines, and everyone flocks to them, but the real action happens at the specialised shows where you can stand out.”
Louay al Samarrai, Active DMC (Middle-East):
“This region is becoming a global powerhouse (for events and shows). As we move into 2026, many clients are prioritising the Middle East. Big events like GITEX will move to a new venue after 27 or 28 years, nearer the airport offering more space and potential.
LEAP in Saudi Arabia is growing as a key event, reflecting the importance of the Saudi market in driving technology. Black Hat is another major event, though it is more focused than GITEX. Events like Seamless, targeting financial services, will also gain importance. Overall, LEAP, GITEX, and Black Hat will be the major events for 2026.”
Simon Vericel, Influence Matters (China, Indonesia, China and Taiwan):
“Events and shows are very much a big thing here too. We invest more in trade shows now, and our clients do too. That shift happened after COVID. With no shows during COVID, companies realised they really needed in-person customer contact in China, and trade shows are the best way to do that.
They might not have massive booths anymore, but there’s still a huge amount of activation around shows – media outreach, customer events, offline technology presentations, and investor meetings.
There are around 10 truly important shows for our clients in Asia, half in semiconductors and the rest in automotive and fintech. For example:
- China Auto Show (alternates Beijing/Shanghai; next year in Beijing)
- SEMICON China
- electronica China
- IC CAD (for IC design companies)
- CIIE (China International Import Expo) in Shanghai
- Computex and SEMICON Taiwan
- Singapore FinTech Festival
- SWITCH (Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology)
They are all are still very well attended.”
Rahme Mehmet, TechComms (UK) our telco, mobile and IT channel market experts says:
“We will be back at Mobile World Congress this year. We have attended for many years. We are also planning to attend other telecoms events such as Connected Britain and Capacity Connect. In the past, we have attended FutureNet and DTW and may do so again depending on client opportunities. Security events like the National Cyber Security Show, InfoSec, and DTX are also important. We attend many channel events, including GTIA ChannelCon, MSP Growth Forum, ChannelSec, and Kaseya Connect Europe.”
If you need any planning and preparing PR activities at the top tech events and conferences 2026, please do get in touch.
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Working with the media at trade shows and event
