Invitations four weeks out
A buyer's fair days are booked a month ahead. Invitations go out before the official fair programme and confirmations are called again during fair week.
Trade fair side events
Business closes
next door to the fair.
The stand delivers demonstrations; the side event delivers negotiations. We produce the dinners and hospitality formats that sit alongside a fair, where the client finally sits down. Nordic Event Management has produced 200+ events across 12 countries and ranked 9th among the 13 best Nordic event agencies in 2025.
In brief
- What
- Trade fair side events: dinners and hospitality formats alongside the fair, where the meetings and the deals happen.
- Who it's for
- Companies exhibiting at fairs, sales leadership and international brands.
- Size
- 12–120 guests
- Cities
- The Nordics and Europe
- Lead time
- Six to twelve weeks
- Languages
- Finnish, English, Swedish
Trade fair side events
A stand
is not enough to close.
On a stand an encounter lasts six minutes and is interrupted twice. A side event gives you two hours with the same client and no competitor beside you — which is why deals increasingly move to the room next to the fair.
The side event is designed around the fair programme: dinner starts when the halls close, and the venue is ten minutes from the exhibition. Invitations go out before the fair, because a buyer's fair calendar fills weeks in advance.
We produce side events at Messukeskus and Slush in Helsinki, at the Tampere and Turku fairs, and at our clients' international fairs across Europe. Away from home, venue, contracts and staff are arranged through local partners.
Clients are industrial and technology companies, importers, growth companies, and agencies producing the fair programme on behalf of a client.
Why us
Invite early, host next door.
A venue within walking distance
We select between the fairground and the hotels. A transfer over fifteen minutes reduces attendance measurably.
A programme that leaves room
One short address, the rest of the time for conversation. A side event is not a second presentation but a place to continue what started on the stand.
Fair-week logistics
Transport, schedules matched to stand shifts, staff and materials. The sales team walks off the stand straight into hosting.
Formats
What we produce.
Client dinner
16–40 guests at the end of a fair day. The strongest format when the goal is negotiation with a few key accounts.
Hospitality suite
A dedicated space near the fairground for the full run: meetings, coffee and a quiet place to negotiate.
Breakfast occasion
Before the doors open, 20–60 guests. Reaches the buyer before competitors reach the stand.
Afterwork
A lighter format right after the halls close, 40–120 guests, low threshold.
VIP tour and transfers
A guided route, transport and hosting for invited clients during the fair day.
International fairs
The same production abroad: venue, contracts, staff and transport via local partners on one invoice.
Example
Finnplay Symposium
For an international technology company we produced an invitation symposium with guests arriving from several countries: branded travel documents, airport screens, a programme in Nuuksio and hosting from start to finish. Of confirmed guests, 99 percent attended.
- Invitation event
- Helsinki
- 1% no-show
How it runs
Four stages.
Reading the fair programme. We map the fair schedule, stand shifts and competitors' events so the side event does not collide.
Venue and invitation. Three venue options, invitations four weeks out, confirmations repeated during fair week.
Fair week. The producer is on site all week: venue, catering, technology, transport and schedules matched to stand shifts.
Follow-up. Attendance, meetings created and photography within three working days, while conversations are still open.
Related services
Tell us the fair and the objective — we propose a format, a venue and a budget.
Request a proposalFirst proposal in a few days.
Frequently asked