ADNEC venue earns global event honours

ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi has won five global titles at Eventex 2026, strengthening Abu Dhabi’s standing as a major international hub for exhibitions, conferences, sporting events and large-scale gatherings.

The flagship venue of ADNEC Group, now part of Modon, secured the titles of World’s Best Sustainable Venue, World’s Best Convention Centre, World’s Best Exhibition Venue, World’s Best Sports Venue and World’s Best Wedding Venue. The sweep places the centre among the most recognised event venues globally at a time when destinations are competing sharply to attract business tourism, major conferences and high-value exhibitions.

The awards were announced during the 16th edition of Eventex, a global platform for the events and experience-marketing industry. The 2026 edition drew 1,405 entries from 58 countries, with judging carried out by 251 specialists from 43 countries. The scale of the competition underlines the growing weight of venue quality, sustainability credentials and operational reliability in the global meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector.

ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi’s recognition as World’s Best Sustainable Venue reflected its clean-energy operations and wider environmental management systems. The venue has positioned sustainability as a core part of its operating model, including the use of clean power, energy-efficiency technologies and sustainable event-management practices. Its standing has also been reinforced by ISO 20121-linked sustainability processes used across major events hosted at the centre.

Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Group CEO of ADNEC Group, said the awards reflected Abu Dhabi’s strategic position as a leading destination for exhibitions, conferences and international meetings. He said the recognition demonstrated the confidence placed in the venue by partners and clients across institutional, commercial and public-event segments.

Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Chief Commercial Officer at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, said the achievement showed the centre’s strong presence in the global exhibitions and events industry, pointing to its facilities, integrated services and professional operations teams as key factors behind the performance.

The five titles also highlight the breadth of ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi’s business model. Its wins across convention, exhibition, sports and wedding categories suggest that the venue is being assessed not only on scale, but also on its ability to serve varied formats with consistent standards. That versatility has become increasingly important as global venues seek to reduce reliance on one segment and maximise year-round utilisation.

ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi offers 153,678 square metres of event space and serves as one of the central platforms for Abu Dhabi’s business-tourism strategy. The venue hosts international exhibitions, policy forums, defence and security events, healthcare gatherings, sustainability conferences, consumer shows and private events. Its calendar for the first half of 2026 includes a heavy schedule across exhibitions, conferences and special events, with ADNEC Group planning 192 events across its UAE-based venues during the period.

The centre’s role has expanded as Abu Dhabi builds a broader events economy linked to tourism, hospitality, aviation, culture and investment promotion. Major venues now compete not merely as halls for hire, but as integrated destinations offering event planning, catering, digital infrastructure, protocol services, visitor management and sustainability reporting. ADNEC Group’s wider portfolio, which includes ADNEC Centre Al Ain, ExCeL London and the Business Design Centre in London, gives it international scale in a sector where global networks are becoming more influential.

The Eventex result comes as the Middle East continues to strengthen its profile in the global events industry. The UAE ranked among the leading countries at the 2026 awards, with 64 honours, including 29 gold awards. That performance reflects the region’s investment in venues, destination branding, aviation links, tourism infrastructure and large-format experiences.

For Abu Dhabi, the awards provide added momentum as the emirate seeks to attract specialised exhibitions and high-spending business travellers. Events linked to energy, sustainability, healthcare, artificial intelligence, finance, defence, manufacturing and culture are increasingly central to its diversification agenda. Large conferences and exhibitions generate hotel stays, airline traffic, restaurant spending, logistics contracts and professional-services activity, creating a wider economic impact beyond venue rental.

Sustainability is also becoming a decisive factor in event-hosting decisions. International organisers are under rising pressure to reduce emissions, manage food waste, report environmental performance and select venues with credible energy and waste-management systems. ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi’s clean-energy positioning gives it an advantage as corporate and government event organisers place greater weight on environmental benchmarks.