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World Gas Conference 2018 logo

The Event

The World Gas Conference (WGC) is held every 3 years, the location changing each time to match the International Gas Union (IGU) president’s nation. The 27th event, WGC 2018, ran in Washington with the theme “Fueling the Future”. 

The Objectives

To increase the International Gas Union’s visibility and provide greater value to members, while giving the American Gas Association (AGA) a revenue-positive platform to collaborate among industry, engage with US Government policy makers and leave a legacy of wider involvement.  Additional objectives included the successful communication of the future role of natural gas as a critical source of energy and to create a vibrant exhibition/meeting place for industry leaders to network, collaborate, exchange ideas and conduct business.

The Results

In terms of revenue, size and participant numbers from 90 countries, WGC 2018 was a success for the event owner (IGU), host (AGA) and broader industry.

WGC competes for exhibitors and trade visitors with dozens of global, regional and local events. Showing how highly it’s esteemed, WGC 2018 attracted 300+ exhibitors across a >40,000 sqm footprint (covering 6 city blocks) while the exhibition saw over 11,500 trade visitors attend.

The largest stands were occupied by leading global-energy names, including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron, while new pavilions encouraged previously unrepresented segments and smaller brands/companies, such as the Sustainability Pavilion. This wider engagement enabled a broader conversation, matching a key objective of the theme “Fueling the Future”, distinguishing the event, creating a legacy and seeing it heralded as the USA’s most important energy gathering in 2018. A focus in design, materials, energy use, waste-management and legacy ensured an ecological and socially responsible event, again matching the theme.

Despite differing time zones, languages and cultures, the 4-day exhibition successfully satisfied multiple stakeholders: from the IGU and AGA, to exhibitors, sponsors and trade visitors, including conference delegates. The global platform raised natural gas’s profile, while giving the IGA and AGA a revenue dividend to re-invest in their advocacy mission, with exhibition revenue from stand sales and sponsorship increasing 15.5% from the previous event, thus being the largest ever. This is the 3rd WGC that ETF has run, a testament to the team as historically, no other exhibition organiser had been appointed to sell, manager and deliver the exhibition more than once.   

WGC 2018 was awarded Best Trade Show Over 10,000m2 in the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia Awards for Excellence.

If you want the most successful exhibition sales and delivery, and sponsorship sales, then you must use Exhibitions & Trade Fairs. No one can do it better than they can.

Jay Copan, Executive Director 27th WGC and Special Advisor to the President, IGU
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ETF implements a great deal of strategic planning and thought into the exhibition operations to ensure the event complies with all applicable regulations and that the exhibitors’ experience is as smooth as possible. The ETF team have the ability and expertise to manage exhibitions in any part of the world, and I highly recommend.

Brian Manoogian, VP - Territory Leader, Expo Sales, FREEMAN

The team behind WGC 2018.