The AIPC Annual Conference 2025 brought the world’s leading convention centre professionals together in Shenzhen, China, for four days of forward-looking dialogue, discovery, and deep connection. With the theme “Meet the World. See the Future,” the conference attracted more than 150 senior delegates from over 30 countries, representing a remarkable cross-section of the global venue industry—from CEOs and General Managers to Heads of Innovation, Strategy, and Customer Experience.
The event marked a significant milestone for AIPC’s growing engagement in Asia, with 50 additional delegates from China’s top convention centres joining the programme. Shenzhen World Convention & Exhibition Center hosted the conference, providing a cutting-edge backdrop that echoed the conference’s future-focused energy.
From the opening remarks by Shenzhen leaders to a dynamic keynote by Mr. Shaoyuan Wu on the Chinese event landscape, the first day set the tone: bold, global, and data-driven. Sven also revealed the 2025 AIPC Member Survey findings, laying the groundwork for key debates on technology, sustainability, talent development, and customer-centric innovation.
Delegates then split into workshops tackling GTM strategies, customer experience, and event design—an interactive deep dive that allowed theory to meet practice. The day concluded with the “Future Shapers” showcasing real-world innovation from the next generation of industry leaders, followed by a glittering cruise dinner on the waters of Shenzhen Bay.
Tuesday continued the momentum with fresh benchmarking insights from Matthew Klas, a high-level panel on sustainability challenges, and rapid-fire sessions exploring AI, flexible venue design, and multilingual event delivery. From the tech game show to thought-provoking talks by industry innovators like Christina Yan Zhang, every session echoed the conference’s mission to shape what’s next.
Wednesday brought a highlight moment: the Innovation Award finalist pitches, followed by the official announcement of this year’s winners alongside our Fourth Future Shapers cohort graduates. These sessions not only celebrated excellence but underlined AIPC’s role in supporting talent and experimentation at every level.
The conference closed with cultural visits to the Bay Opera of Shenzhen and the Mirror of the Sky, giving delegates a glimpse into the creative soul of the city.
AIPC gratefully acknowledges the support of our business partners who brought their ideas, solutions, and energy to the Shenzhen edition. From IMEX (hosts of Monday’s lunch) to our featured partners Gala Systems, Skyfold, Momentus Technologies, Visual Europe and Wordly, your contributions helped elevate the experience and added real value to the discussions.
Shenzhen 2025 was more than a conference—it was a collective visioning exercise for the future of our industry. We connected across borders, challenged assumptions, and celebrated the diversity and dynamism of our global community.
