BACK TO THE PAST: Why I believe in the power of in-person events

By Gorazd Čad

Reading time 8 minutes

This article is also published in Kongres Magazine.

In 2025, I was surprisingly moved by the kamishibai paper theatre (paper play). This rudimentary, almost ascetic form of theatre is orchestrated by the storyteller, who tells the story by changing the illustrations in a wooden frame.

Kamishibai is not a show in the modern sense of the word. It’s not entertainment, but a meeting. With every change of illustration or picture, the storyteller opens up a new scene, building a bridge between the audience’s imagination and the picture. This is raw theatre and visual storytelling, but also something more primordial. Such art forms remind us that profoundness does not stem from complexity, but from presence and authenticity. Seeing this somewhat neglected form of theatre made me ponder: more technology does not necessarily mean more content. Conversely, more authenticity and presence almost always bring more content. This experience inevitably led me to write about in-person events as one of those rare moments when something similar occurs, only on a different scale. These are moments when energy surges between people. These are moments that are more important than form, production, scenography and scripts.

I will undoubtedly remember 2025 as the year when in-person events clearly demonstrated their power. Events dug their heels in and held their ground, not only as a platform for fostering connections but as a space where history can often be written.

Only a year ago, we wondered about the future of in-person events. Now, the Kongres Barometer 2025, the latest research of our media outlet, has the undisputable answer: live events remain the cornerstone of the events industry. The numbers speak for themselves: a whopping 84% of event organisers believe that in-person events will dominate once more in the following three years. A virtual future? Only 7% of respondents still believe in a digital-only world of events.

Yet, the key difference is not only in numbers, but in the value of the experience. In-person events are no longer only mushrooming; they are becoming indispensable again. An overwhelming 74% of respondents see them as the most effective channel for building connections. On the other side, virtual formats remain an add-on, not an alternative.

The EEX 2025 report by the 27Names agency confirms what the events industry has been experiencing for some time: in-person events have not only triumphantly returned – they are stronger, more relevant and strategically more paramount than ever. The statistics are telling: 87% of event organisers firmly believe that live events will power B2B marketing in the future. Attendance rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels (95%) and have even exceeded them in certain aspects. The percentage of virtual-only events, though, has dropped to a mere 8%. This is no coincidence: people crave authentic meetings, direct contact and networking with added value. Regional and niche events are on the rise again, companies continue to invest in events, and visitors prioritise attending in person. In other words, forget about the dilemma of live, hybrid or virtual events. The future of our industry will take place IN PERSON!

Gen Z: A catalyst for the future of in-person events

If we aim to understand where live events are moving, we must look through the eyes of Gen Z. Both aforementioned studies stepped into the shoes of young event organisers. According to data from EEX 2025, 64% of Gen Z members prefer in-person events to virtual ones. Their reasoning is simple: live events offer authentic experiences, social interactions and moments they can share on social media platforms. Gen Z is a generation that no longer views events as information-sharing platforms but as an integral part of their lifestyle. They cherish live moments with a powerful emotional and visual impact.

The Kongres Barometer 2025 also noticed this seismic move. A considerable percentage of event organisers (67%) admit that Gen Z is hard to convince to join traditional conferences. Put simply, classic event formats are losing their touch with reality. Hence, concepts such as festivalisation, interactivity, sustainability and local authenticity are coming into the limelight. Gen Z sees these elements as worthy of their attention and participation. EEX 2025 also showed that the brand awareness at live events is higher among Gen Z members (by 37% compared to millennials). They also show that 73% of them are more motivated to buy products in person than online. In other words, if you wish to establish a connection with Gen Z, live events are not an effective choice, but a necessity.

Both studies thus carry a common message: Gen Z covets live events, but not just any. They want events that understand their needs, engage them, include them and leave a lasting impression. If we offer them just that, Gen Z won’t just be in attendance; they will co-create the story.

In-person events are the last stronghold of democracy

In a world where algorithms shape reality, artificial intelligence filters content, and social media platforms perpetuate an illusion of connectivity, live events remain one of the few spaces home to an authentic, unfiltered human experience. They are a space where a word is not only content, but an act. Here, presence is not conditioned by likes but by the genuine wish to meet, learn and share. I believe in-person events are more than marketing tools or channels; they are becoming spaces for active citizenship, cultural exchange, and truth-seeking. In a way, they are a microcosm of society, where event organisers establish trust, one of the most endangered values of our time.

When people with conflicting beliefs, from various industries and several generations, convene in one place and exchange ideas and thoughts, something occurs that technology cannot replicate. This affinity for in-person events is not about romanticising the past without screens, but a necessary reflection for the future that we have to win back.

Live events are thus the last defence against polarisation, our antidote against losing dialogue and our remedy against digital isolation. I dare claim events are the last fortress of democracy. That is one of the reasons they are not only the future of the events industry but the future of the community.

In-person events are POMP* – (Point of Meaning and Participation / Moments and Presence)

They are not only a space to meet, but a space of meaning. A space where moments and presence converge. As I like to say, they are spaces of POMP. At events, moments happen that a screen can never catch.

POMP is that elusive moment when the air suddenly becomes thicker, when a look in the eye counts for more than a thousand likes and when presence is not only physical, but emotional, intellectual and social. In that moment, a paradigm shift occurs – events are not just platforms for exchanging information but become a transformational experience. The importance of human contact, spontaneity, unexpected audience response and the feeling of community comes into the limelight. That is what renders them the centre of modern communication. The connection between events and content is key in this context. In a flood of digital superficiality, where content comes and goes without having any profound effects, live events are becoming sources of authentic, trustworthy and long-lasting content. They are no longer the outcome of marketing strategy, but its source.

Content generated live, including statements, audience reactions and backstage highlights, has strong emotional value, context and instils trust that digital platforms cannot recreate. This content then lives on through videos, blogs, interviews, social media posts or podcasts. An event is thus no longer a singular event, but a permanent platform of on-demand content. Furthermore, live events hold the power that no digital world can replicate: they are a point where people network, feel and co-create. This space for collaboration hides potential for fostering real change, impact and movements – from business to social changes.

How to create events according to POMP principles?

POMP (Point of Meaning and Participation / Moments and Presence) is not only a format, but a state that an event must enable. An event is not defined by the programme but by the moment when meaningful connections occur.

According to POMP principles, an event has five fundamental features:

1. An event is not built around content, but around meaning

An event of the future is not built around what we wish to tell, but around what must happen. It is no longer about what content we put on stage, but what change we want to create in our attendees. Hence, POMP events go beyond ticking programme boxes to building the dramaturgy of the experience. They leave topics aside and open relevant questions. Events should leave plain-old information-sharing in the past and instead leave room for interpretation. Content is not the goal, but the trigger at POMP events. It is the spark and cause for creating meaningful change.

The dilemma today: How will we tell our story to participants?

The dilemma tomorrow: What should the attendees experience? What insights will they gather before, during and after the event?

2. Attendance is not only physical, but also multilayered

An event of the future will not only measure attendance by the number of seats in a hall, but also according to the intensity of attention. In a POMP event, attendance is not only physical, but also emotional, intellectual, and social. It is the moment when something sparks a light, challenges stances, prompting attendees to share their experiences with others and experience the event here and now. Such presence by the attendees demands consciously crafting the experience: limiting multitasking, moving away from screens, providing rituals when entering and exiting and offering a space for silence, surprises and spontaneity. The event of the future sets conditions in which it is impossible to remain disconnected.

The dilemma today: How to ensure attendees will be present in person?

The dilemma tomorrow: How to create the conditions for a holistic presence – emotional, psychological, spiritual and social?

3. Attendees are not just the audience, but co-creators

The event of the future will not be based on establishing a line between those on stage and those sitting in the hall. POMP does not occur in places where some perform, and others follow, but in a space where attendees react, and where their questions change the course of the event. Their responses become part of the content programme. Such an event knowingly opens up formats, enables live interactions and accepts imperfection as a value. It leaves room for the unexpected, as it acknowledges that in such moments, truest moments are created. An event of the future, therefore, needs enough structure to retain its form and enough open-mindedness for something extraordinary to happen.

The dilemma today: How to capture and keep the audience’s attention?

The dilemma tomorrow: How to create an environment for attendees to become co-creators of the event?

4. An event is a point of content

An event of the future does not see content as something that is pre-prepared and then presented, but as something that is made in the moment. The most valuable content is not created in advance, but in person through statements, outlooks, reactions, conflicts or laughter. That is why a POMP event is designed to foster authentic statements that enable documentation without disturbing the presence of attendees. At such events, the organisers can use ready-to-use quotes instead of vague and trivial PR statements. Such an event does not conclude with the final applause, but becomes a permanent platform for content and the starting point for future dialogue.

The dilemma today: How to effectively promote the event and present the content?

The dilemma tomorrow: How to design an event as the source of authentic, trustworthy and long-lasting content?

5. An event is not a one-time occurrence, but leaves a permanent impact

An event of the future will not conclude with a final applause. A POMP event sees sustainability as a matter of footprint and impact, not just execution. It does not concern itself with the organisation but with what remains: which connections will improve, which insights will stay with the attendees and which behaviours will change. Hence, an event is not a consumerist experience, but a sustainable process that perpetuates the continuity of meaning, community and influence. Its value does not lie in a one-time experience but in moving attendees even after the event concludes.

The dilemma today: How to execute an event and conclude it successfully?

The dilemma tomorrow: What will be the sustainable footprint of the event in terms of connections, thinking and behaviour of attendees?

Power to the Meetings

The ideas in this article are a natural addition to the concepts developed in the book Power to the Meetings. If that book offered a methodological and practical framework for organising quality events, this text knowingly moves to the next step – the fundamental question of why in-person events matter more than ever.

The concept of Power to the Meetings stems from the belief that events are not logistical projects, but environments for creating valuable meetings. These are spaces where energies transform into meaningful connections, connections into shared experiences and experiences into meaning. Events, as I see them, are based on co-creation, presence and authentic moments shared between attendees. I always return to these principles with some distance, more data and having seen more best practice cases. I am delighted that more and more of us in the events industry are starting to understand that in-person events are not only effective but necessary. They are not yet another marketing channel or tourism strategy, but among a handful of platforms where we can still establish trust, community and dialogue in our digitalised society.

I understand the POMP concept as the natural synthesis of the Power to the Meetings methodology and the challenges of our era. A key difference between this article and the book is the extended understanding of sustainability. If I only addressed sustainability through the prism of sustainable event organisation in the first book, I see it for its broader meaning, improving partnerships and impact today. Events are no longer one-time spectacles, but platforms with a long-lasting impact.

That is why I am proud to announce a sequel to the Power to the Meetings book. In this book, I will reconceive the concepts that have accompanied me on my event organising path all these years with wisdom, personal experience and distance. The publication of the book will also be a symbolic moment to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Kongres Magazine in 2026.

I wish you a successful and eventful 2026. Above all, have countless encounters in-person!

Gorazd Čad has been co-creating the events industry in New Europe for over three decades. He is a geographer and historian by education and an advocate of sustainability and responsible event organising by profession. In 2009, he co-created Conventa, one of the most distinguished events on a European scale. Gorazd is also the founding father of Planet Positive Event, a revolutionary sustainability tool and a European Climate Pact Ambassador, who aspires to create a sustainable transformation within the meetings industry and create events with future generations in mind – events that make the world a better place long after they have ended. His expertise, knowledge, and global connections have made him a household name in the global events industry and a mentor to many young talents entering the field. Many industry experts know him as the founder of Kongres Magazine, one of the most esteemed media outlets in the European events industry. Gorazd is also a Senior Advisor to Creative Pro Group.

*POMP is coincidentally the name of the POMP Forum, one of the oldest, greatest and most renowned international conferences in the field of content marketing. It took place in Ljubljana for many years.