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Our Event Management Survey will be published in its second edition in 2026. With 781 participants, the latest edition delivers more responses than ever before, significantly strengthening the validity of the results. For the first time, year-on-year comparisons between 2025 and 2026 provide valuable insights into how event management is evolving within organisations. One trend stands out clearly: time and resource constraints are moving into sharper focus, making the targeted use of tools, automation and AI more important than ever.
With over 20 years of experience in the event industry, both as an organizer and in the development of digital technologies for events, Marc combines his extensive expertise with a Master's in Digital Business Management and a Bachelor's in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing.
The 2026 Oniva survey, which included 781 participants, shows that event management within organizations is increasingly being distributed across many different roles; dedicated event managers are now responsible in only about 45% of cases. Compared to 2025, the survey reveals growing use of event software, declining demand for hybrid formats, and ongoing pressure on budgets and attendee numbers. The report provides benchmark data on KPIs, tools, and team structures.
Event management within organisations has evolved significantly in recent years. Events are now used in a wide variety of contexts and are therefore managed by many different roles. The traditional role of the dedicated event manager is increasingly fading into the background and is more often becoming part of a broader set of responsibilities.
Our survey shows that only 45% of event management is now handled by people with the official job title of Event Manager. 8% is managed by assistants, 10% by marketing teams, and a further 37% is spread across many other functions.
This shift brings new challenges. Employees are taking on event responsibilities alongside their core roles and must develop the necessary expertise, processes and tools accordingly.
The breakdown of event types reveals a broad and varied event landscape within organisations. Internal employee events account for the largest share at 68%, highlighting the central role of events in strengthening company culture and internal communication. Training and educational events are also widely used, with 56% of respondents organising them.
Networking events follow at 49%, underlining the importance of relationship-building both within and outside organisations. A notable development is the decline in customer events: compared to 2025, their share has dropped by 18%. Possible reasons include tightening budgets and stricter compliance regulations.
In-person events remain the dominant format by a wide margin, with 95% of organisations continuing to run physical events. Virtual formats have established themselves as a useful complement, while hybrid events have not been able to sustain their initial momentum. Compared to 2025, hybrid events have declined by 5%.
Oniva’s analysis shows that the proportion of marketing budgets allocated to events varies widely across organisations and has declined overall compared to 2025. The 0–20% category has increased by 16%.
The majority of organisations (40%) invest only 0–20% of their marketing budget in events. A further 9% allocate 21–40%, while just 16% dedicate more than 60% of their marketing spend to events.
Notably, around 35% of respondents in 2026 were still unable to specify the share of their marketing budget spent on events. This suggests a lack of transparency or insufficient data tracking in many organisations.
When it comes to event objectives, knowledge and information sharing continues to rank first at 63%. This is closely followed by customer and employee engagement (60%) and networking (59%), clearly showing that personal interaction and relationship-building remain at the heart of events. It is also notable that lead generation has increased by 4% compared to 2025, highlighting the growing importance of events as a business development tool.
The core results of the 2026 Event Survey confirm that events remain a highly effective channel for many organisations. 52% of respondents state that events help them achieve their goals better than other marketing activities, with 21% strongly agreeing. A further 32% see at least a partial advantage.
Encouragingly, no respondents said that events do not contribute to goal achievement, while 17% were unable to assess the impact.
These findings underline the strategic importance of events as a central element of the marketing mix.
In 2026, 44% of respondents identify time and resource constraints as the biggest challenge in organising events. This may be linked to the significant increase in the number of events held in 2025, as well as shrinking staffing levels driven by economic pressure.
Because events take place at fixed points in time and cannot be repeated in the same way, they require a high level of care and precision. As a result, organisations select their event service providers based on clearly defined criteria.
Unsurprisingly, reliability ranks first at 77%, followed by trustworthiness at 62% and having a dedicated personal contact at 53%. It is also notable that price sensitivity has increased further — rising from 44% in 2025 to 49% in 2026. In 2026, price has become more important than a provider’s flexibility.
For the first time, artificial intelligence is perceived as the most important trend in event management in 2026. The global technology shift is clearly making its way into the events industry.
Sustainability remains a key theme, reflecting both societal expectations and corporate responsibility to deliver events in a resource-efficient and environmentally conscious way.
Alongside technology and sustainability, innovative event content is also seen as a major trend for 2026. Data protection and event security remain a central concern at 44%. Overall, the results show that the future of events lies in the combination of AI, sustainability, innovative content and strong security standards.
Events continue to enjoy strong momentum. While growth is expected to be less steep than in previous years, 79% of organisations anticipate running the same number of events or even more in 2026.
The results suggest that most organisations are maintaining a stable event strategy. At the same time, the 17% planning more events reflects a positive outlook and the growing relevance of live experiences. The relatively small share planning fewer events (13%) points to specific challenges, budget limitations or increased use of digital alternatives.
For the first time this year, participants were specifically asked about the potential of AI in the event context. The results show that intelligent analysis of event data and automated text generation are seen as the greatest opportunities.
In addition, 50% of respondents believe AI could support idea generation and the development of event concepts. Overall, the findings indicate that AI has strong potential to reduce current pain points in event management, streamline processes and save valuable time.
The key trends in B2B event management for 2026 are artificial intelligence, sustainability, innovative event formats, as well as data protection and event security. AI, in particular, is seen for the first time as the strongest driver in the events sector, as it is radically transforming processes, content creation and data analysis.
In 2026, AI will primarily be used for event analysis, content creation and process automation. This includes, amongst other things, automated text generation, intelligent analysis of event data and support with concept development. The aim is to save time and alleviate the growing resource constraints in event management.
The biggest challenge is the lack of time and resources, which 44% of organisations cite as critical. Other challenges include rising demands on content, budget control, participant management, and the increasing complexity brought about by hybrid and digital event elements.
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