The director spoke about the main trends of the event industry in 2026.

The event industry is shifting its focus from showiness to guest impressions. In 2026, organizers are increasingly abandoning universal scenarios and relying on personalization, thoughtful drama, and technological solutions that enhance the emotional experience of participants. Dmitry Yakovlevsky, founder of the international design laboratory TwentyFive, director and expert in the field of multimedia solutions, told Izvestia on May 9.

He stressed that a modern event is evaluated not by one vivid visual episode, but by the integrity of the impression. The entire journey of the guest is important — from the first contact with the invitation to the emotions and memories that remain after the end of the event.

"The impression is formed not only at the moment of the event. It begins with an invitation and continues after completion — through communication, memories and visual images that remain with the person," he explained.

Technologies that are now becoming part of the overall event direction play a separate role. We are talking about systems capable of adapting light, sound and visual effects in real time depending on the audience's reaction. Interactive solutions, surround sound, and artificial intelligence-based tools are being developed to create a more personalized experience.

"Modern technology allows the space to literally respond to guests. This creates a sense of lively interaction and makes the event more deeply perceptible. At the same time, it is not the technology itself that is important, but the quality of the content and the synchronous operation of all elements," the expert noted.

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Yakovlevsky called the congestion of sites with effects one of the most common mistakes in the market. An excessive number of visual solutions, in his opinion, distracts attention and weakens the overall impression. In addition, problems arise when the concept does not take into account the specifics of the audience and the actual objectives of the event.

"If you don't take into account how a person perceives information, some of the ideas are simply lost. It is important to test solutions in advance and understand how they will work in the real space," he explained.

Assessing the current state of the market, Yakovlevsky stressed that the event industry is not undergoing temporary changes, but a deep structural transformation. According to him, the market has already passed the point of return to the previous model: customer requests, the logic of budget allocation and the very idea of what a high-quality event should be are changing.

According to industry analysts, the global event industry market in 2025 is about $1.48 trillion, and by 2033 it may grow to $3.47 trillion with an average annual growth rate of about 11%. The expert noted that the corporate segment is developing especially dynamically: its volume in 2025 is estimated at $326 billion, and the average annual growth until 2031 is projected at about 13%.

Yakovlevsky believes that these indicators indicate a growing demand for a new level of event quality. In his opinion, the competitive advantage today is increasingly determined not by the scale of the budget, but by attention to detail, precision of execution and the ability to create a complete impression that remains in the memory of the guests for a long time.

Elizaveta Marchenko, the founder of the Manul wedding agency, said on April 14 that the wedding industry has seen an increase in the popularity of chamber celebration formats, in which couples prefer a small number of guests and a more personalized approach to organizing events. This trend is taking shape against the background of changing priorities of the newlyweds and their desire for a closer and more emotional holiday atmosphere.