E ach winter issue, we at Special Events put together trend forecasts and industry predictions , reflecting on the previous year and peering into the future. Then, every spring, we head to Catersource + The Special Event to watch event leaders share their observations and bring their expertise to life in a week of top-tier education, engaging demonstrations, and trendy gatherings. This year, the best of the industry’s trends appeared at every turn. Grab a pen and get inspired: here’s a look at what’s popular in events today. Cutting-edge technology There’s no way to talk about trends without mentioning all of the advanced 1. tech spreading through the industry. While this wasn’t the first year we’ve seen AI, robots , or AR/VR, each year sees these developments progress further, and at this point it’s safe to say that these tech forms have taken root and are growing rapidly. Even last year, there was still major hesitancy around the use of AI. Today’s event pros are far less fearful— many have incorporated this tech into their businesses (think streamlined platforms and customer service chatbots, such as the one on the CS+TSE show app this year), as well as into events themselves (such as attendee data analytics for higher engagement, real- time social media monitoring, and elevated security processing). In her session Elevate & Scale: Crafting Precision Job Descriptions & AI-Powered Templates for Luxury Event Mastery , Zohe Felici (Mentor + Coach Wedding + Event Biz Owners) took a quick poll of the room to see who had dabbled in AI, and about 90% of the room had at the very least experimented with some form of AI— showing that the majority of event pros are at least curious enough to see for themselves. Robots are increasingly mainstream as well: while last year’s conference saw robots in sessions and on the tradeshow floor, this year’s Closing Night Celebration incorporated a robotic bartender arm to serve beverages to attendees. VR goggles and AR activations are still growing across industry use as well. “Event planners automatically like anything that draws attention to a moment,” said Kevin Bilida (TLC Creative) during David Merrell’s (AOO Events) annual session David Merrell Presents: Current Trends in the Event Industry . He shared that his company uses
Elaborate LED walls and projection mapping transformed the venue for the Closing Night Celebration.
As part of the theme to honor past event leaders, the Closing Night Celebration featured hologram fans with images of Special Events Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.
robotic bartenders, robot chess, and robot drawings to entertain eventgoers, increasing engagement, providing photo ops, and creating that sense of surprise and delight. LED video walls and signage are gaining traction as well, along with increased use of holograms, like the ones spotted at the Closing Night Celebration. One thing to note is that as these forms of technology become more popular, they will continue becoming more accessible and affordable, making them easier to obtain and incorporate into your events, no matter the size of your budget.
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SPECIAL EVENTS SPRING 2025
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