ABPCO announces finalists for 2026 Excellence Awards

18 September 2026

The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) has announced the finalists for its 2026 Excellence Awards, celebrating the outstanding work, innovation and impact being delivered across the association and not-for-profit events sector.

This year’s awards attracted a record number of entries, reflecting the breadth and quality of work taking place across the sector. The judging panel was impressed by the strength of submissions and the high standard of entries across all categories.

ABPCO Executive Director Matt Stalker says the breadth and quality of this year’s finalists is a positive sign for the sector: “There are some outstanding finalists and a great range of entries this year.  Simply being listed as a 2026 finalist is some achievement.”

Contenders will now look ahead to the ABPCO Excellence Awards ceremony, where the winners will be announced and the achievements of the sector celebrated.

The 2026 ABPCO Excellence Awards will be presented on 10-11 December at ICC Belfast, bringing together professionals from across the association and not-for-profit events community.  Headline sponsor for this year’s event is the Scottish Event Campus (SEC).    Additional event sponsors and supporters include Visit Belfast, MICE Concierge, the Liverpool Experience Campus (LEX), Cvent, the Harrogate Convention Centre, Inclusive Digital and Kubify.

The ABPCO Excellence Awards recognise and celebrate industry best practice in association and not-for-profit conferences and events, providing an opportunity to showcase the incredible work being undertaken across the sector and the positive impact it creates.

For more information about the 2026 ABPCO Excellence Awards, visit www.abpco.org/awards.

2026 ABPCO Awards Finalists

Best Association Events Team - sponsored by Manchester Central

• Royal College of Emergency Medicine
• Royal College of Psychiatrists
• Convenzis Group
• Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association
• Pensions UK
• MCI on behalf of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons

 

Best Digital & Technology Provider - sponsored by Live Recruitment 

• Rapiergroup
• FFAIR
• CrowdComms & Royal College of Psychiatrists
• EventsAir in collaboration with the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe
• Cvent & NASUWT - The Teachers' Union
• First Sight Media
   

Best EDI at a Conference - sponsored by the British Motor Museum 

• Seren Events
• NatWest Internal Audit, Welcome Brain Consulting and Edinburgh International Conference Centre
• Renewable UK

Best Event by an Agency PCO (ABPCO members only) - sponsored by Full Circle Events & Exhibitions

• Freshwater UK
• Abbey Conferences and Scottish Agritourism
• Outsourced Events Limited and British Maternal & Fetal Medicine Society
• Outsourced Events and British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy
• Redactive Events
• MCI on behalf of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons

Best Event by an In-House PCO (ABPCO members only) - sponsored by P&J Live

• Alzheimer's Research UK (Alzheimer’s Research UK Research Conference 2026: delivering a flagship event through strategic planning, collaboration and meaningful impact)
• Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association (UCISA26 Leadership Summit: Creating Space to Lead, Connect and Belong)

• Association of Anaesthetists (WSM 2026: Restoring Relevance, Expanding Reach, Changing Practice)
• British Orthopaedic Association (BOC Annual Congress 2025)
• Pensions UK (Pensions UK Annual Conference 2025)
• Pensions UK (Pensions UK Local Authority Conference 2026)

 

Best Industry Supplier  (ABPCO members only) - sponsored by Modex 

• Barbican Centre – A Strategic Supplier for Future-Focused Association Events
• Edinburgh International Conference Centre- Partnering with Associations to Create Lasting Impact
• Live Recruitment
• Harrogate Convention Centre - The Partner Behind Exceptional Conference Experiences
• Full Circle Events & Exhibitions - More Than a Supplier: A Partner to the ABPCO Community
• GES

 

Best Member Engagement - sponsored by Memcom

• First Sight Media – Breaking Down Barriers to Engagement: How First Sight Media Transformed Participation at NHS Ignite Festival
• RenewableUK – RenewableUK - NextGen Network
• MCI on behalf of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons - We Are ESCRS: A Connected 365-Day Member Experience

 

Best New Conference - sponsored by the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel 

• Royal College of Emergency Medicine - RCEM Annual Conference 2026 - the place for Emergency Medicine
• The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health - RCPCH Digital Paediatrics Conference 2025
• NASUWT - The Teachers' Union - NASUWT Reps Summit 2026
• Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining - Materials, Minerals and Mining for People, Places and Planet
• Scottish Agritourism and Abbey Conferences - The Inaugural Global Agritourism Conference

 

Best Partnership - sponsored by the Telford International Centre

• Barbican Centre, Design Council, Stitch powered by Connection Crew CIC and Searcys – World Design Congress 2025 at the Barbican: A Design for Planet Partnership
• Fitwise Management - Fitwise and the Association for Continence Professionals Partnership – ACP Conference 2026
• P&J Live &  The Event Complex Aberdeen - The UK Stroke Forum 2025
• The ABPCO Dietary Inclusion Taskforce – Managing Dietary Requirements at Events
• Abbey Conferences, P&J Live and Scottish Agritourism - Growing Together: How Partnership Formed World's First Agritourism Conference
• Conference Partners International  & British Society for Haematology - Building More Than a Conference: A Strategic Partnership Transforming the British Society for Haematology's Annual Scientific Meeting

 

Best Sustainable Conference - sponsored by GES

• Barbican Centre, Design Council, Stitch powered by Connection Crew CIC and Searcys - World Design Congress 2025 at the Barbican: Design for Planet in Practice
• Scottish Agritourism, Abbey Conferences and P&J Live - The Event Complex Aberdeen - Global Agritourism Conference, Aberdeen
• Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, One Tribe and ACC Liverpool - Flood & Coast 2026: Embedding Sustainability, Driving Climate Resilience
• RenewableUK - RenewableUK - NextGen Network
   

Guiding Star - sponsored by London Excel 

• Katrina Cookson (University of South Wales)
• Steve Daun  (P&J Live | Legends Global)

Legacy and Impact - sponsored by Bridgewater Hall 

• NASUWT - The Teachers' Union - Beyond the Conference: Building a Lasting Legacy in Birmingham
• Liverpool Experience Campus & Campus the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) - Liverpool's 'Little Smiles for Everyone' Legacy Project
• Visit Belfast - Visit Belfast: A new era
• UK Stroke Association,  P&J Live and Aberdeen Convention Bureau - The UK Stroke Forum 2025 (UKSF25)
• The Business of Events and ICC Wales - Access All Areas: Closing the Accessibility Gap in Events
• The Power of Events - The Power of Industry

Rising Star - sponsored by the Crowne Plaza Newcastle 

• Saffron Owen (Alzheimer's Research UK)
• Esther Wong (UCISA)
• Sorcha Donnelly (Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3))
• Antonia McMillan (ICC Belfast)
• Taliana Rontard (Seren Events)
• Caitland Lomas (RenewableUK)

Student of the Year - sponsored by Allianz Stadium Twickenham 

• Misan Jekhine (Leeds Beckett University)
• Raphaela Lee (University College Birmingham)
• Annabel Leach (Manchester Metropolitan University)
• Isha Lakhani (Oxford Brookes University)

 

 

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