Expectation or result? How to read an events industry figure

You have to defend the 2026 budget to your client. On LinkedIn you’ve seen the perfect sentence for the proposal: “Event budgets rise by 6.5% in 2026”. You put it in. And in the meeting, the procurement director asks: “Have they already risen? The year isn’t over”.

He’s right. The figure exists, but it doesn’t say that. It says organisers expected them to rise. It is an expectation told as if it were a result.

Before putting it in your proposal, ask Athena what organisers expect for their 2026 budgets. It’s free and you don’t need to sign up. It gives you the figure with its study, its page and the link to open the document.

Where does that 6.5% come from?

From a German events barometer, the Meeting- & EventBarometer by EITW (Europäisches Institut für TagungsWirtschaft, a German institute for the meetings industry). It was an online survey run from January to March 2026 among organisers in Germany and other countries^[1].

On page 40 there are two figures, side by side^[1]:

• What happened in 2025 compared with 2024. 49% of organisers said their budget had increased. The average rise was 5.8%.
• What they expected for 2026. 51% expected an increase. The expected average rise was 6.5%.

Same survey and same page. The first figure is about a year that had closed. The second, about a year that had just begun. The 6.5% on LinkedIn comes from the second.

How do I know if a figure is a forecast?

Look at two things.

The verb. “Expects”, “plans” or “will rise” signal an expectation. “Increased” or “had risen” signal a result. Many studies are written in English. There, expect, plan, will, forecast or anticipate signal a forecast, and increased, reported, used or grew signal a result.

The dates. Compare when the survey was carried out with the year the figure is about. A survey from early 2026 can’t measure how 2026 ended. If the figure is about a period that hadn’t finished yet, it is a forecast. This works the same for a trade fair as for a conference.

The verb gets lost easily. “51% expect their budget to rise” turns into “budgets are rising” within two reshares. The date doesn’t change. That is why the date has the final say.

With Athena you have both to hand: the figure, the study and the page where you can read the exact question.

How do I write it in my proposal?

Name the study, when people were asked, the expectation verb and the page. It fits in one line.

What’s doing the rounds:

Event budgets rise by 6.5% in 2026.

What stands up to any question^[1]:

According to the EITW barometer, 51% of the organisers surveyed between January and March 2026 expected to increase their budget that year, with an expected average rise of 6.5% (page 40).

If someone asks where it comes from, you give the study and the page. And if you want a figure for something that has already happened, you have the 2025 one: 49% increased their budget, by 5.8% on average^[1].

A forecast is still useful. It tells you the mood of the industry and what organisers are planning. You just have to present it as what it is.

Can I use Athena from my ChatGPT or Claude?

Yes. If you work with ChatGPT or Claude, you can connect Athena to them so they take their figures from industry studies. For this you do need an account. We walk you through it in how to connect Athena to ChatGPT or Claude.

Sources

1. EITW, “Meeting- & EventBarometer Deutschland 2025/2026” (open access), May 2026 report. An online survey run from January to March 2026 among organisers in Germany and other countries (page 63). Budget change reported for 2025 and expected for 2026 (page 40).

Frequently asked questions

Does Athena always warn me that a figure is a forecast?

Not always. Sometimes it separates what has already happened from what is expected in the answer. At other times one of its sentences may present a forecast as if it were a fact. Read the verb before copying it and open the study’s page if in doubt.

When will I know how much budgets really rose in 2026?

When a study asks about 2026 after it has ended. Until then, what there is are forecasts. If you ask Athena and no study measures it, it will tell you there is no data.

Do I need to sign up to use Athena?

No. You can use the website without signing up. You only need an account to connect it to your ChatGPT or Claude.