Palexpo SA Activity Report 2025
In 2025, Palexpo continued its growth trajectory, with tangible results and a clear strategic vision. A return to balance, key highlights that punctuated the year, changes in the internal organisation and concrete progress in QRSE: this report spotlights the achievements that reflect a transformation under way. Driven by this momentum, Palexpo reaffirms its commitment to strengthening its impact in the service of Geneva and to helping bring about a more innovative, more sustainable events sector, aligned with the expectations of tomorrow.
Four questions for François Longchamp and Claude Membrez
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF PALEXPO SA
François Longchamp and Claude Membrez :
The year 2025 marks a turning point for Palexpo, with its first profitable year since the COVID crisis. This return to balance demonstrates the resilience of our model, the soundness of our strategic direction and the confidence of our partners, in a competitive environment that has once again become highly active across Europe. Beyond economic performance, 2025 illustrates the vitality of our programme, encompassing major long-standing trade fairs, international congresses and flagship public events. The success of the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, together with the particularly successful launch of autoXpérience – marking a deliberate return to our fundamentals – reflects our ability to combine heritage, innovation and the renewal of formats.
Claude Membrez :
Achieving ISO 9001 certification represents a structuring advance, recognising the robustness of the fundamental changes made to our organisation and processes, within a continuous improvement rationale. At the same time, we continued to develop our data-related technological capabilities, in order to deepen our understanding of visitors, enhance the support we offer to exhibitors and optimise the overall experience at our events. The launch of the new format for Les Automnales, centred around the Food Festival, Market and Émotions themes, fully illustrates this determination to develop our events into more immersive, more segmented experiences that are increasingly in tune with contemporary expectations.
François Longchamp:
These developments are also backed by tangible investments in our infrastructure and services. Providing permanent offices alongside Hall 2 for organisers strengthens their on-site anchoring and streamlines event preparation. Furthermore, the redesign of Palexpo’s visual identity, now more modern and attractive, reflects our commitment to projecting an image consistent with the transformation under way.
Claude Membrez:
Sustainability forms part of a holistic approach, combining operational performance, environmental responsibility and societal impact. The ISO 9001 certification, mentioned earlier, is fully in line with this approach by establishing more efficient, measurable processes geared towards continuous improvement. We are also continuing our efforts in energy optimisation, flow management and resource recovery, while supporting organisers in adopting increasingly responsible event practices. In this respect, completion in 2025 of the first carbon footprint assessment for the Geneva Book Fair, organised by Palexpo, marks an important step: it enables us to measure our impact precisely, identify our levers for progress and place our events on a concrete, steered reduction trajectory.
François Longchamp:
Our focus is firmly on the future. With financing for the future Pavilion now secured, we are taking a decisive step forward in the development of our infrastructure. This new facility will strengthen our international competitiveness and our ability to host major events under optimal conditions.
Claude Membrez:
At the same time, we will continue to evolve our formats and invest in innovation, data and event technologies. Our ambition is clear: to offer ever higher-quality and more immersive experiences for both our partners and our audiences. The July hosting of the AI for Good Global Summit, alongside the WSIS+20 High-Level Event organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), illustrates this trajectory. Over five days, Palexpo established itself as one of the world’s major stages for dialogue on artificial intelligence. Its renewal from 2026 onwards confirms the quality of our operational framework and our ability to support the international platforms shaping the events industry of tomorrow.
François Longchamp:
In this way, we intend to consolidate Palexpo’s position as a leading events platform in Europe, both firmly rooted in its region and connected to the major shifts shaping the sector.
