The Farnborough International Airshow wrapped last Friday, and the numbers it posted are worth a closer look, even for those of us who build stands rather than aircraft. The show opened with a record 1,636 exhibitors, more than a fifth of them taking part for the first time. For an events industry that spent much of the last few years talking cautiously about recovery, that’s a striking data point.

A Record-Breaking Floor

Farnborough’s growth wasn’t just in headline exhibitor numbers. International participation grew too, with 28 international pavilions this year compared to 21 in 2024, and overseas exhibitors accounting for 63% of the total floor. US firms alone took up 35% of the exhibition space. That combination, more exhibitors, more countries, and more first-timers, points to a show that’s grown in depth as well as size.

First-Timers Change the Brief

The first-time exhibitor figure is the one we find most interesting. Debut exhibitors don’t have an established stand, a tested layout, or years of show-floor data to draw on. They’re making decisions about space, materials and messaging from scratch, often against tight timelines and without knowing what “good” looks like on that particular floor. It’s a reminder that stand design isn’t just a creative exercise, it’s also a logistics and planning one: working out what’s achievable within a build schedule, a budget, and a venue’s specific rules is half the job before a single graphic gets designed.

A Wider Signal for UK Events

Farnborough is aerospace-specific, but the pattern it shows, exhibitors investing more heavily in physical presence and new entrants willing to commit to a stand for the first time, echoes what we’ve been seeing across UK trade shows more broadly this year. Face-to-face remains the format companies reach for when they want to be taken seriously in front of the right audience, and that’s translating into more competitive, more crowded show floors. Standing out increasingly means getting the fundamentals right early rather than trying to out-spend the stand next door.

If you’re weighing up your first exhibition stand, or rethinking one that’s starting to feel dated, we’re always happy to talk through options at papyrusgroup.co.uk/contact.