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Wednesday 30,
September 2026
Wednesday 30,
September 2026
Wednesday 30,
September 2026
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28th September 26, Manchester, UK: CHS Manchester will open its doors at the AO Arena this week, bringing together months of momentum, industry support and collaboration for the inaugural edition of the show on Wednesday 30 September.An exhibitor line-up packed with leading venues, hotels, destinations and suppliers will be joined by a Hosted Buyer Programme approaching capacity, a major education programme and a growing Fringe Programme across the city. Together, they underline the confidence that has built around the show over the last 12 months.For buyers and visitors, the focus is firmly on value. Thousands of conversations and meetings will take place across the show floor, supported by content across the Revolution Stage, Manchester Stage and Industry Hub, alongside networking, hospitality and experiences throughout the day.The gathering begins the evening before with Manchester Calling, CHS Manchester’s official welcome reception at Manchester Central. Hosted buyers will also be staying across some of Manchester’s leading hotels, while the wider Fringe Programme will take CHS into venues and spaces across the city.Manchester itself has played a major part in the build-up. Its venues, hotels, partners and events community have embraced the show and the people coming to it, creating a sense that the city is opening its arms to the industry and is ready to show visitors what Manchester can do.Victoria Braddock, Managing Director at Marketing Manchester, commented, "Bringing CHS to Manchester has been a masterclass of collaboration in practice. Together with the CHS team, AO Arena, and with the support of partners and venues from across our visitor economy, we have an incredible supershow kicking off in Manchester this week where every detail has been meticulously thought through."And now an amazing mix of conference buyers, exhibitors, and suppliers will descend on the city ready to do business and make things happen. That's the Manchester way of doing things and we're so excited to welcome everyone and for them to see what's in store. Whether you visit Manchester all the time or have never visited before, we hope the CHS community have the chance to enjoy the city, to work hard, but most importantly, to have fun!"Gemma Vaughan, General Manager at AO Arena said, “We’re thrilled to welcome CHS to the AO Arena and to Manchester. Whilst we’re best known as one of the UK’s leading music and entertainment venues, our £50 million redevelopment has opened up an exciting new chapter for us. Hosting CHS is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the versatility of the AO Arena and demonstrate that we’re about much more than live music. We’re proud to welcome the CHS community to Manchester and excited to give them a taste of what our venue, and our city, can offer for business events. We can’t wait to bring everyone together.”Emma King, CEO, CHS Manchester, commented: “The momentum behind the show has been incredible, and now we get to bring everyone together. Manchester has given CHS a massive hug and that warmth will be everywhere this week.“We’ve been asked whether getting bigger means becoming less CHS. Absolutely not. We’re doubling down on everything that makes CHS, CHS. That means brilliant business and content, but also looking after people properly. We’ll be throwing out love bombs and value bombs throughout the show; if someone needs help, whatever it is, we want to be there. We want people to feel genuinely valued from the moment they arrive.”That approach will run throughout the show, with the CHS team given the freedom and resources to solve problems, make people’s days easier and add unexpected moments of hospitality. It is part of an ambition to ensure that increased scale brings more CHS personality, rather than less.The support surrounding the show also reflects wider confidence across the events industry. Associations, partners, exhibitors, speakers, buyers and the Manchester events community have all played a part in building towards this week.Most importantly, the meetings and conversations taking place at CHS Manchester will turn that confidence into business. New briefs will be discussed, relationships will begin and opportunities will move forward.For an industry built on bringing people together, that makes this week an important moment: a gathering in Manchester that can create momentum long after everyone has gone home.
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Long after the presentations have finished and the ballroom has emptied, it’s not always the agenda that is the most memorable. People remember the atmosphere, the conversations and the feeling of being part of something that mattered.Yet the things our industry measures aren't always the things people remember. Attendance, dwell time, app engagement and ROI all matter, but they don't fully explain why one event stays with people long after another has been forgotten.That is the power of occasion.Working in hospitality for more than three decades, I’ve seen how the setting, welcome and smallest details can change the way people respond to an event. These aspects influence whether guests simply attend or feel that they are part of something genuinely significant.Occasion starts with anticipationA sense of occasion begins long before anyone takes a seat.It starts with the invitation arriving in an inbox. The anticipation of attending. Choosing what to wear. Travelling to a place that feels different from the everyday. Walking into a venue with heritage, character and a genuine sense of occasion signals that this isn't an ordinary day.In my experience, guests arrive with expectations already forming. The invitation, destination and venue all help to establish the importance of an event before its formal programme has begun.Creating a sense of occasion isn't about extravagance. It's about creating the expectation that something meaningful is about to happen.We remember moments, not programmesAsk someone about an event several months later and they are unlikely to recite the running order. They are much more likely to describe one or two moments: a keynote that moved the room, the conversation that led to a new business opportunity, a genuine welcome from a member of staff or a thoughtful detail that made the experience feel personal.From what I have observed, those moments often shape how people remember the entire event. It is why hospitality should never be regarded as something that sits around the programme. It is part of the experience itself.Environment influences behaviourAnyone who works in hospitality sees how differently people respond to different surroundings. Inspiring spaces, a warm welcome, thoughtful lighting, genuine hospitality and personal touches can help delegates feel recognised, valued, at ease and more willing to connect.The environment itself becomes a form of communication. Before a speaker has said a word, it tells delegates whether they've simply been invited to an event, or whether they've been invited to something their organisation believes is worth investing in for them. This is supported by Hilton’s 2026 Why We Gather report, which found that 55% of attendees see deeply personal, thoughtful service from staff as one of the standout factors that makes a meeting memorable. The research also highlights the importance of thoughtful room layouts, acoustics and lighting in turning event spaces into places of genuine connection.It reinforces something those of us working in hospitality see every day: the setting matters, but it is the way a space makes people feel – and the human interactions that happen within it – that gives an event its significance.Occasion has commercial valueIt's easy to dismiss occasion as something intangible or purely aesthetic. But I believe its value can be seen in how people behave. When people feel welcomed, recognised and part of something meaningful, they're more likely to stay longer, participate more actively, build stronger professional relationships and leave with a more positive perception of the event. These are not simply signs of good hospitality; they contribute to the outcomes organisers want their events to achieve.Perhaps that's why occasion deserves to be viewed less as an aesthetic choice and more as a strategic one. The best event design isn't simply about logistics; it's about creating the conditions in which people feel comfortable enough to engage, collaborate and connect.Because, in the end, the most successful events are remembered because they made people feel that their time, their contribution and their presence genuinely mattered.
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