Dubai World Trade Centre Q4 2026 events calendar: DEC expansion advances with Dh10b investment

Dubai: Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) is gearing up for a busy final quarter of 2026, with more than 100 exhibitions, conferences and business events scheduled across its two Dubai venues through the end of the year, as work continues on the Dh10 billion expansion of Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC).

The Q4 calendar spans technology, travel, tourism, energy, real estate, construction, beauty and sustainability.

DWTC said the continued commitment from event organisers and the international business community comes alongside investment in infrastructure designed to accommodate increasingly large and complex events.

The fourth-quarter programme includes a series of major international exhibitions and conferences.

DUPHAT, Middle East Energy and Arabian Travel Market are set to open the season in September, followed by Arab Lab, WETEX, World Green Economy Summit, Gulfood Manufacturing, The Big 5 Global and Beautyworld Dubai in October.

GITEX Global will close out the year in December. The technology event is expected to bring together more than 200,000 technology executives, 6,800 exhibitors and participants from more than 180 countries, according to DWTC.

The events will take place across DWTC’s two venues — Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) in Dubai’s Central Business District and DEC at Expo City Dubai.

DWTC said having two venues gives organisers greater flexibility and allows multiple major exhibitions to take place at the same time.

Mahir Julfar, executive vice president at Dubai World Trade Centre, said the business events sector had continued to show resilience.

“The business events industry has consistently demonstrated its resilience and ability to adapt, and we are seeing that again today,” Julfar said.

“With a busy Q4 ahead, our focus is on continuing to deliver for our organisers, exhibitors and visitors, building momentum and confidence with every event that takes place.”

He said business events play a role in Dubai’s wider economy by bringing international companies, investors and decision-makers to the emirate.

“Business events have an important role to play in driving Dubai’s wider economic momentum, bringing international businesses, investors and decision-makers to the city to trade, build partnerships and access new markets,” Julfar said.

“The long-term commitment we continue to see from organisers is encouraging, and as we deliver the season ahead, we remain focused on supporting the continued growth of Dubai as a global business events hub.”

At the same time, work is progressing on the three-phase expansion of DEC at Expo City Dubai.

Phase 1 was delivered in early 2026, taking the venue’s purpose-built indoor event space to 140,000 square metres and its daily visitor capacity to 50,000 people.

The expanded venue hosted Gulfood and World Health Expo as its first major events, demonstrating its ability to accommodate large-scale international exhibitions.

Construction of Phase 2 has continued through 2026. Once complete, Phase 2 will take DEC’s indoor event space to 160,000 square metres and increase daily visitor capacity to around 60,000 people.

The next phase will also include an extended concourse connecting the Phase 1 and Phase 2 halls, a new Eastern Access Road and new multi-storey parking facilities initially providing around 7,000 spaces.

The expanded infrastructure is designed to allow DEC to host larger events and multiple events simultaneously.

Amer Al Farsi, vice president of Real Estate Development at Dubai World Trade Centre, said the expansion was aimed at anticipating the changing requirements of the international events industry.

“The expansion of DEC is ultimately about staying ahead of the future requirements of the global events industry,” Al Farsi said.

“Phase 1 has already demonstrated the scale and flexibility the expanded venue can provide, and we are now building on that foundation through Phase 2.”

He said construction was progressing according to plan while DEC remained operational.

“Our ambition goes beyond creating greater capacity and scale; we are building a world-class venue that delivers an exceptional experience for organisers, exhibitors and visitors,” Al Farsi said.

“As the expansion progresses, we are creating the infrastructure and flexibility needed to support larger and more complex international events and Dubai’s long-term growth as a global business events destination.”

When the full expansion is completed in 2031, DEC is expected to span 180,000 square metres and extend 1.2 kilometres.

Daily visitor capacity is expected to reach 65,000 people, while the venue will have the ability to host more than 20 simultaneous events.

The expansion forms part of DWTC’s longer-term growth plans and supports its ambition to increase its annual economic contribution to Dh54 billion by 2033, in alignment with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).

DWTC said it has hosted close to 6,800 events since its inauguration, generating an estimated economic output of AED295 billion and attracting more than 43 million business visitors to Dubai.

The organisation said DEC, its second flagship venue at Expo City Dubai, is increasingly central to Dubai’s plans to strengthen its position as a global business events destination.