At the advent of REINVENT the event, Europe was caught in the middle of a pandemic. The first edition pivoted online and convened over 1,700 attendees. Since 2023, though, the Portuguese events community has been meeting in person in Estoril. In a few years, REINVENT has grown from a digital crisis response into a recognisable voice in the Portuguese events industry.
This year’s event at the Estoril Congress Centre drew nearly 600 attendees. The number is telling, but it doesn’t capture the point. The event’s essence was in the packed main hall, the lively exhibition zone next to it, the full workshops, and the talks that didn’t end with the final applause. The event became a bustling space where Portuguese industry recognises and benchmarks itself and awards its best.
What our dear colleagues at Event Point International created, especially Rui Ochôa and Cláudia Coutinho Sousa, is, in my opinion, one of the industry’s most elegant and inviting events. Elegance is not synonymous with luxury, though. It means congruity. When branding, scenography, graphic language, attendee journey and programme rhythm speak the same language. Nothing screams; nothing is redundant, and everything works confidently.
Commenting on this year’s edition, Cláudia Coutinho de Sousa, editor-in-chief at Event Point and co-organiser of REINVENT, the event, said: “For the first time, we welcomed more than 850 participants to REINVENT, showing that even the fiercest competitors can share ideas, experiences and challenges, and learn from one another. This year’s theme was ‘Competing for attention’, and we set out to ensure that all 14 sessions, featuring more than 40 speakers from Portugal and abroad, connected in some way with this challenge that affects us all. We explored emotions; AI and creativity; events beyond the major cities; the very concept of attention; phenomena such as running clubs and the opportunities they create for brands and events; the growing influence of under-30s in our industry; and events as experiences that continue in the digital world.”
“We also hosted five workshops covering topics ranging from wellbeing for event professionals to the technical production challenges of catering. The exhibition area brought together around 30 companies offering a wide range of event solutions, from audiovisual technology and management software to venues and hotels, from food court management to stages powered by solar energy.”
Echoing her ebullience about this year’s programme is its co-curator, Rui Ochôa, director at Event Point and co-organiser of REINVENT the event, who added: “REINVENT is the day when people whose job is to organise events for others can come together, spend time with their peers, discover fresh ideas and explore partnership and business opportunities. It is a day for meeting face to face. We don’t stream the event online, although we record all sessions and make them available to participants afterwards. This is an experience you can’t fake. We either make the most of it or we don’t. We either enjoy ourselves or we don’t.”
“As organisers, we like to think about the details that can make the REINVENT experience as rich and rewarding as possible. These include translation services; session summaries made available as soon as each session ends; a platform that identifies all the event photos in which each participant appears; the printed edition of Event Point, the magazine behind REINVENT; and the app, which brings together all the practical information, suggests people to connect with based on our profile, and allows us to schedule one-to-one meetings. Our international guests also give participants the opportunity to discover how people think and work in other markets, drawing on a diversity of experiences and knowledge. Although our focus remains primarily on Portuguese professionals, everyone is welcome. Looking ahead, we want REINVENT to establish itself internationally as a space for debate and reflection on the future of the events industry, as well as an excellent point of contact for those looking for venues, partners and suppliers for their events in Portugal.”
“REINVENT would not be possible without the support of Visit Portugal and Visit Cascais, alongside the dozens of partners who bring their best to our event. Connect Comunicação was the agency responsible for production and overall coordination of the 2026 edition. We extend our sincere thanks to all of them.”
An event living its theme
The central theme of this year’s REINVENT was Events Competing for Attention. With this, the organisers set a high benchmark. In an era when every stage faces attendees armed with phones, an excellent speaker is no longer enough. Attention must be earned.
REINVENT caught attendees’ attention by intertwining the main stage, exhibition area, five workshops, one-to-one meetings, online meetings, and The Eventeers Awards. Content didn’t stay confined to the hall; it spread across the venue. The programme grew from the content, reinforcing the central idea rather than shifting away from it.
The introductory speech honoured the people who enter a space and work hours on end to create moments others experience in minutes or seconds. The phrase “somos todos eventos” (we are all events) paid homage to the technical teams, creators, subcontractors, project leaders, and all the other invisible hands behind events. Rui Ochôa and Cláudia Coutinho Sousa primarily hosted the community. They unveiled novelties and shared the credit for the event among their team and partners. The message was univocal: REINVENT is not an event about the industry, but an industry event.
You cannot capture attention without personal meaning
Miguel Assis from VOQIN’ Agency led the central discussion: “There is no attention without emotions”. He connected neuroscientist Tiago Reis Marques, actor and producer Ricardo Pereira and Rodrigo Sousa Teixeira from Cisco. Their three outlooks quickly converged on the first claim: an event doesn’t need more emotion, but more personal meaning.
instead of filling every minute, we need to create two or three key peaks and a strong ending. Some things cannot be explained; they must be lived.
Tiago Reis Marques clarified that brains devote attention to that which they deem important. Emotions are the fastest sign of this importance, but a creative solution can eclipse the main message or brand. The message must thus exist at the emotional peak, not beside it. Ricardo Pereira noted that an audience can easily tell when an emotion is faked, and even the finest actors can’t save a poor script. Rodrigo Sousa Teixeira added an example of a musician who connected 22,000 people with a song about his wife’s illness. The conclusion was simple: instead of filling every minute, we need to create two or three key peaks and a strong ending. Some things cannot be explained; they must be lived.
Humans come first and last
The keynote speaker at REINVENT was Gerd de Bruycker, former Head of Events at Cisco and founder of NimbleX. He opened his presentation, titled Shining Eyes, Smart Machines, with a personal memory of Microsoft TechEd in 2000. The Bryan Adams concert and the announcement of the Barcelona event gave him shivers; a spark lit in his eyes and pushed him to act. Gerd sees this as the essence of a great event: it changes an outlook, evokes emotions and encourages actions. The profit is only the after-effect.
Artificial intelligence can speed up exploration, planning, translation and measuring, but it cannot replace human judgement or take responsibility for execution.
De Bruycker summarised his view with a simple equation: “Humans at the start, artificial intelligence in the middle, and humans at the end”. The more content exists, and the easier it becomes to access, the more precious human judgement, presence, trust, emotions and relationships become.
The return on relationship
The discussion around the newly published European Experience Index 2026 was particularly exciting to me, as I had the chance to speak. 27Names’ annual research contrasts client and agency views on the future of events. Rui Batista from UP Partners moderated the conversation, which included Ralf Specht, Mariana Ferreira Grace, and me.
The research findings show a huge divide: the percentage of clients who rate relationship profitability among key KPIs has jumped from 16% to 56% in a single year.
Yet, only 19% of clients and 11% of agencies know how to measure it. I chipped in by warning about the danger of the “beautiful average”: AI can rapidly create a good enough idea, yet human judgement, creativity, and authentic relationships make the difference. Such relationships usually occur during breaks, not on or in front of the stage. The difference lies in creative thinking, human judgement, and human contact. The general conclusion was unequivocal: algorithms master the screens, but the audience owns the hall.
Technology as a character, not decoration
Mexican artist Tupac Martir, founder of Satore Studio, doesn’t see technology as an add-on, but as part of the narrative. He has worked with household names such as Beyoncé, Elton John, Sting, and Prada, and has contributed to the series Fallout. His principle is simple: every light, image or technical element must serve a purpose. His works attest to his mentality. The installation Sesé turned the demographic history of Mexico City into light and sound. At the same time, Cosmos Within Us translated memory’s deterioration into a seeming reality of music and touch. Technology not only showcases itself, but serves the story and human vulnerability.
Martir’s credo, which he advertises as Dogma AI, demands transparent AI use: we must reveal its percentage and take responsibility for the final result.
His advice applies to any event: if we remove a technical element and the story remains untouched, it was only an expensive effect.
The day’s common thread was clear: judgement, bravery, taste, and the capacity to listen to audiences make the difference. The more speakers discussed algorithms, the clearer it became. Artificial intelligences produce beautiful averages quickly. Competent teams must go beyond that.
The experience before a photo
Luís Manuel Gachineiro, Maria Flor Gameiro, Miguel Pires, and Patricia Nunes Coelho discussed whether we create events for people in the hall or for the audience on the screen. First, we need a powerful spatial experience, and we must plan its continued digital existence before the event. Maria Flor Gameiro emphasised that a real, unexpected moment works more powerfully than yet another photo in front of logos. The Samsung S25 presentation reinforced this: guests chose the ingredients, Gemini wrote the recipe, and the kitchen cooked it. Technology thus became part of an authentic experience. The conclusion is straightforward: first, we must create something worth experiencing, and then something worth photographing.
REINVENT followed this philosophy throughout. Its most eye-catching element wasn’t a glossy technological trick, but a hand-painted storyboard of the event. Caricatures of past editions turned the event’s history into a collective memory. In an epoch of machine-made perfection, the incomplete line of a human hand felt rather luxurious.
Estoril as a natural choice for the event
Estoril seems like the ideal and natural stage for REINVENT. The conference centre offers a setting that feels close enough for paths to cross. At the same time, the venue offers plenty of space for stages, exhibitions, workshops, and meetings. Outside the venue, Atlantic light connected the entire story, making it feel summer-like even in October. The president of Turismo de Cascais noted in his opening speech that destinations don’t win alone; they win as connected regions. The Cascais-Lisboa model and the Awesome Cascais initiative connect venues, hotels, and educational institutions. Big events don’t follow municipal lines; they follow accessibility, accommodation, and year-round tourism quality.
Speakers commenting on events outside main urban hubs confirmed this. Frederico Teixeira showed how a surfing competition in Peniche encouraged the region to grow, while João Nuno Silva showed how a festival in the mountains of São Pedro do Sula turned the absence of internet into a major advantage. Germana Cruz warned about the demanding execution in remote places, while Paulo Almeida and Tiago Araújo outlined the importance of local know-how and municipal support. Sometimes, we shouldn’t wait for the perfect infrastructure. A strong event can first signal demand and prompt destination development.
Less content and more meaning
If I had to summarise this year’s REINVENT into one editorial finding, I would write: less, but better. The industry isn’t suffering from a lack of content, but from a surplus of average content.
We will not get more attention with longer programmes, more screens or louder effects. We will earn attention by having a clear purpose, making editorial choices, and creating moments where the message is intrinsically connected to the experience.
The Event Point team and partners played their editorial role perfectly and with incredible attention to detail.
That is why I call REINVENT an elegant event: not because of its suit, but its manners. It respects its attendees’ time, gives a face to the people working behind the scenes, includes partners in the story, and uses technology as a means to an end. Above all, the event insists that content is king, around which communities, business opportunities, and new programmes can mushroom.
Is this the industry’s most elegant event? Such claims are always a matter of personal judgement. Yet, after a sunny day in Estoril, I can write something important: REINVENT has a singular character. It does not aim to copy global giants. In fact, it copies nothing. Instead, it gives the Portuguese events industry a stage, confidence, and a voice. In a time when algorithms produce increasingly similar, average content, a recognisable character is the rarest form of attention.
Explore more about the event here: https://reinvent.pt/.
Editorial disclaimer: The editor prepared this article based on personal attendance at the event, and it reflects the author’s personal opinion, which may not reflect the editorial board’s.
