What is Global Exhibitions Day — and Why Does Language Matter?

Every year on the first Wednesday of June, the global exhibitions industry comes together to celebrate Global Exhibitions Day (GED). Launched in 2016 by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, GED has grown into a worldwide moment of recognition, with activities taking place in over 100 countries and regions. It exists to highlight the vital role that exhibitions play in driving business development, fostering international connections and building communities that advance industries.

At TranslateAble, Global Exhibitions Day holds a particular significance. Exhibitions are not just the industry we serve, they are the industry our founder Julia Danmeri spent 20 years working in before launching TranslateAble. We understand from the inside what it takes to run an international show, what organisers are under pressure to deliver, and where language so often sits at the heart of both the challenge and the opportunity.

Why language is central to what exhibitions do

Exhibitions exist to bring people together - buyers and sellers, innovators and investors, communities and industries — from across the world. That global reach is precisely what makes them so powerful as a business tool. And yet language, the most fundamental barrier to human connection, is often one of the last things that gets properly addressed in event planning.

When an exhibitor cannot speak the local language, connections and potential business connections are missed. When seminar content isn't interpreted, international attendees disengage. When marketing materials exist only in English, target audiences in new regions never feel the event is truly for them. Language isn't a nice-to-have at international exhibitions, it's the infrastructure that makes international connection possible.

This is why TranslateAble exists. Every service we provide, whether it’s interpretation, translation, sign language, captioning, transcription and localisation is designed specifically for the exhibitions and events industry, by people who have run exhibitions themselves.

How language services support sustainable exhibitions

One of the enduring themes of Global Exhibitions Day is sustainability and language services play a more direct role in this than most people realise.

At TranslateAble, we ensure that onsite interpreting assignments are delivered by language professionals local to the event city wherever possible. They travel no further than their home city to support the event. This means no flights, no hotels, no unnecessary carbon footprint and a direct positive impact on the local economy of the host city. It also means lower costs for our clients, because local sourcing removes travel and accommodation from the budget entirely.

For exhibition organisers under pressure to demonstrate ESG credentials, this approach allows language services to actively contribute to sustainability goals rather than work against them. It is one of the reasons we prioritise local sourcing as a founding principle of how we operate, not an afterthought.

TranslateAble's role in the global exhibitions community

We are proud active members of the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) and Julia is a proud member of the Women in Exhibitions network. Both communities reflect the collaborative, forward-thinking spirit of the exhibitions industry that we are privileged to be part of.

We support exhibition organisers across four continents from trade shows in London and Frankfurt to conferences in Nairobi and events across Asia-Pacific. Wherever an exhibition takes place and whatever languages are needed, our network of vetted local language professionals is there to make sure every attendee, exhibitor and speaker can participate fully.

We regularly attend industry events ourselves including IMEX Frankfurt, The Meetings Show, International Confex and IBTM, because we believe in being present in the industry we serve, not just supplying to it from a distance.

Making exhibitions more accessible and inclusive

Global Exhibitions Day is also a reminder that the exhibitions industry has a growing responsibility to make shows genuinely accessible. One in five people in the UK is deaf or hard of hearing. Significant portions of international audiences speak little or no English. Neurodivergent attendees benefit from captioned content. These are not edge cases but instead, they represent a substantial part of every show's potential audience.

TranslateAble supports organisers in addressing all of these needs, from BSL and international sign language interpreters to AI-assisted live captions and post-event transcription. Making an exhibition accessible to everyone is not a cost instead as an investment in the size and quality of the audience you reach.

If you are planning an international exhibition and want to make language services a strength rather than an afterthought, we would love to talk. Explore how we support expo organisers or get in touch with the team to discuss your next show.