5 Corporate Event Trends for 2024

With a new year now fully underway, we’ve been keeping an eye on the conversations happening in the event industry and have put together the top event trends we can see making an impact in 2024. The event industry is and always has been an ever-changing landscape, but the change seen over the last five years has been monumental and the world of events is evolving fast with new technology and ideas. In this post, we’ll be highlighting the key trends that all event professionals should be keeping their eyes on.

1. Renewed focus on sustainability

Remaining a priority is the topic of sustainability, which requires a renewed focus this year. Clients are increasingly asking for sustainability policies and accreditation from their partners. While the expense of sustainability might be concern for event organisers, it doesn’t necessarily have to be costly. Organisers can begin by opting for a plant-based menu or local food and beverage options, minimizing the use of single-use plastics at their event, and giving preference to suppliers and venues committed to contributing to a greener world. At the Inner Temple, a myriad of sustainable measures have been carefully considered to help us to achieve our environmental aims. Read more on sustainability at the Inner Temple on our website.

2. Event accessibility and neurodiversity

With a growing recognition of the importance of diversity and inclusion, event organizers should be prioritising DEI initiatives in their planning processes. This means using technology that everyone can benefit from, choosing venues that are easy to get around in, offering food for all diets, providing language support for diverse attendees, and using alternate learning formats specifically for neurodiverse populations. In 2024, we’ll see further developments towards curated experiences that prioritize inclusivity, ensuring that everyone feels welcomed and valued.

3. The continued emergence of AI

In 2023, AI emerged as a prominent trend, and it will continue to captivate the industry in the year ahead. Embracing AI and cutting-edge event technology will be imperative for the industry this year, with AI predicated to not only engage the right audiences and provide high-value content, but it will also be seen to generate materials and automate event organisation tasks.

Utilising AI, event organisers can tailor the attendee experience by analysing registration data and event behaviour to segment groups and design activities based on demonstrated areas of interest. Beyond personalisation, AI technologies can also aid event production and can create prototypes for stage design. The rise of generative tools like Open AI’s Chat GBT, capable of generating event content such as presentation scripts and promotional emails with a single prompt, will significantly alleviate the workload for all event stakeholders, from marketing teams to keynote speakers.

More broadly, we’ll see event organisers opting for more tech-friendly venues. In developing the two new additional floors of events spaces at the Inner Temple, we have advanced our technological capabilities. The Lecture Theatre features an integrated screen with audio and a triple camera setup, recording, and streaming needs—ideal for the demands of the current hybrid work environment and our multifunctional meeting spaces offer Clevertouch screens, integrated audio with microphones and speakers and cameras for room capture, recording, streaming and training purposes.

We are witnessing the early stages of a technological revolution in business, particularly with the advent of new technologies like AI. It will be fascinating to observe how AI shapes the events industry in 2024 and beyond.

4. Drive more value

Event budgets are tightening as travel expenses, material costs, labour costs, venue prices and costs across the entire supply chain have all inflated since the pandemic. As a result, many organisations will place more scrutiny on the expense that comes with hosting meetings and events and the genuine return on investment (ROI) of meeting in-person.

To encourage companies to include events in their sales and marketing strategies, event planners will need to develop bespoke event programmes that align to the companies goals and objectives to ensure organisations experience the benefits. This also circles back to Trend #3, and will be easier to accomplish with the help of AI. It is worth noting that this trend may also turn out to not be a trend at all, but the new normal for event professionals.

5. In-person events dominating the market

Physical events will remain the preferred choice for businesses, with hybrid events offering valuable alternatives. Hybrid events will continue to be recognised as a great tool and will become the standard, especially as events with a virtual option can increase brand reach significantly and allow international attendees to avoid the expensive travel costs we’re seeing in the current economic climate. Despite this, a majority of delegates will still prefer to attend, and reap the benefits of an event, physically.

These trends reflect ongoing shifts in technology, societal values, and industry practices, shaping the future landscape of events in 2024.