Home FEATURED NEWS The selection of Europe’s top 100 event leaders revealed

The selection of Europe’s top 100 event leaders revealed

The editorial ranking is based on an evaluation of 819 agencies

Jul 17, 2026

In partnership with the Unicorn Awards, Europe’s oldest event competition, Kongres Magazine has officially revealed Europe’s Live Experience Power List 2026. The editorial ranking, based on an evaluation of 819 agencies across 41 European markets, highlights 100 bellwethers who co-create the future of events, brand experience projects, and live communication through their work, influence, and vision.

The leaders represent agencies that jointly generate over 2.11 billion EUR in annual revenue and employ 27,600 people. The ranking also includes 26 agencies from New Europe, underscoring the region’s growing impact, maturity, and international relevance.

The purpose of the selection is to promote transparency, benchmarking, and professionalisation within Europe’s diverse events industry, helping stakeholders understand who sets standards and pushes boundaries.

“The European events industry is immensely creative, yet too often overlooked and incomparable. With our Live Experience Power List, we want to establish a more transparent map of the industry, not based on spectacle and volume, but on past projects, quality, impact and responsibility. Such benchmarks are not made for reputation’s sake. They help us see who is pushing boundaries, where new standards are set and how the live experience agency is transforming into a true strategic discipline,” summarised Gorazd Čad, the founder of the Unicorn Awards and editor-in-chief of Kongres Magazine.

The ranking measures far more than an agency’s size or award tally. The 2026 Power Index assesses eight key areas: alignment between the leader and the agency; agency scale and performance; awards and market recognition; personal visibility and influence; networks and ecosystem; creativity and innovation; sustainability and responsibility; and the quality of publicly available data. Sustainability and responsibility are also integral to the methodology, supported by the Planet Positive Event framework.

Topping the ranking is Colja Dams, CEO of VOK DAMS, with a score of 99.04 out of 100. His position underscores the importance of measurable experience marketing and the strategic role of events in contemporary brand communications. Arne Koefoed of WINK Netherlands ranks second, followed by Patrick Roubroeks, Founding Director of XSAGA, in third place. Completing the top five are Cyril Giorgini of Auditoire Group and Stefan Kozak of CREATIVE PRO Group. Kozak’s inclusion sends a particularly strong signal that agencies from New Europe are now helping shape the European events landscape on an equal footing.

Today’s leading agencies do more than produce events: they help organisations build trust, connect communities, launch ideas, manage reputations and translate strategy into experiences.

The selection reflects the events industry’s continuing evolution from a delivery partner into a strategic communications discipline. Today’s leading agencies do more than produce events: they help organisations build trust, connect communities, launch ideas, manage reputations and translate strategy into experiences that people can genuinely feel, inspiring respect and trust among industry stakeholders.

In a time permeated by artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty, growing sustainability demands, and ever-higher client expectations, events are becoming one of the most powerful ways for brands, institutions, and communities to demonstrate what they truly stand for. This ranking highlights industry progress and achievement, helping the industry understand itself more clearly, giving clients a broader perspective on the European market, and providing the media with a verifiable framework for tracking the development of the live experience industry.

The complete Europe’s Live Experience Power List 2026 catalogue is also available in PDF format here. It features all selected leaders and their agencies, along with rankings, Power Index scores, and editorial profiles, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the wider European live experience industry.

Key data behind the selection in 2026:

819 evaluated agencies and leadership profiles
41 European markets
100 selected leaders
2.11 billion EUR in joint estimated annual revenue
27,600 employees in 819 agencies
26 agencies from New Europe
446 trackable international recognisability signals from Bea World, Eventex and the Unicorn Awards
Threshold to enter the TOP 100: 60.51 Power Index points

The festival is organised by the Toleranca marketing agency and the Conventa trade show, in cooperation with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Slovenian Convention Bureau.

Learn more about the event competition here.