ATLANTA — As FIFA World Cup fever is gripping the U.S., host cities and show organizers have gotten creative to keep events running smoothly.
FAN EXPO Dallas and IntraLogisteX Dallas adjusted their spring and summer schedules because the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas was transformed into the International Broadcast Centre for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver International Boat Show relocated from BC Place to the Vancouver Convention Centre West due to the FIFA games.
Atlanta is another host city, and eight games have been scheduled at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) worked with show organizer ANDMORE® to reschedule their summer 2026 Atlanta Market dates at AmericasMart Atlanta, which are usually in July.
“Adjusting convention and event dates around major sporting tournaments is not uncommon,” Charlene Lopez, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, ACVB, said. “Destinations and event organizers routinely work together to identify the best timing for attendees, hotels and venue availability. Atlanta has successfully navigated these opportunities for decades. While individual organizations make decisions based on their own business needs, events like the FIFA World Cup become part of a broader mix of conventions, sporting events and leisure travel that contributes to Atlanta’s visitor economy year-round.”
The FIFA match dates in Atlanta were officially announced in February 2024. ANDMORE immediately began working on modifying its summer Atlanta Market dates a month later, according to Greg Avitabile, President & Chief Operating Officer, ANDMORE.
“Our primary decision to move our Atlanta Market show dates was to provide the best experience in the city for our attendees,” Avitabile said. “As our leadership team discussed internally, concerns surfaced about the potential for extreme congestion in the downtown area limiting access to transportation, restaurants, parking, city attractions, etc. as well as higher-than-normal lodging rates due to compression. Ultimately, we decided to shift our Atlanta Market dates forward, and co-locate with Atlanta Apparel, to host the most efficient and compelling market experience possible.”
The combined summer Atlanta Market and Atlanta Apparel show took place on June 9-14 at AmericasMart Atlanta.
While it was not the first time the show needed to shift dates, the reason for the shift in 2026 was quite different: The last time the show moved dates was during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Timing this year was a challenge according to Avitabile, since June is a busy convention month in Atlanta.
“Finding a suitable window to hold our co-located markets was not easy,” Avitabile explained. “We also are accustomed to having six months between major markets to build-out new showrooms and make updates to our facilities. This timeline was compressed and reduced by six weeks, which required all planning to pull forward.”
The biggest undertaking this time was moving the contracted housing block for market participants.
“We had 30 hotel blocks that we had to shift, expand and negotiate with 41 hotel properties,” Avitabile said. “We also had to expand our event shuttle program accordingly. Inside the buildings, we reimagined the layouts of our First Finds across each category.”
Avitabile added that they worked with the ACVB and their hotel partners to shift the customary July dates and housing blocks into the month of June.
“Our blocks expanded in Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead. We have strong relationships in the city, which we leveraged to make this a win-win for our attendees and the city at-large,” Avitabile said.
Overall, total buying accounts were up 1.1% year-over-year (YOY) and first-time participants were up 22.5% YOY.
They also saw increases to the Apparel and Grocery/Convenience Store categories, +53% and +21% YOY respectively, which indicate interest in the category crossover.
“This was the first time we co-located Atlanta Market with Atlanta Apparel, which activated all of the AmericasMart campus simultaneously,” Avitabile said. “Initial results show that the decision was a success.”
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