Athens Selected as Host City of IAPCO General Assembly in 2026

Athens was selected as the host destination for the 56th Annual Meeting and General Assembly of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO). The announcement was made by IAPCO President Sarah Markey-Hamm during the 2024 annual meeting held recently in Ljubljana.

The event, which will promote Athens’ MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism, will be held February 2026 and host over 150 leading professionals — members of IAPCO — who are among the most important “players” in the international conference market. IAPCO members regularly organize the largest and most important conferences in terms of duration and number of participants.

Athens won the bid to host IAPCO’s 2026 annual meeting after submitting a bid file titled “The Odyssey Reinvented” to IAPCO’s Board of Directors. The narrative explores how technology is transforming the way people meet and connect as the digital world becomes a virtual environment, as well as the enduring role of human wisdom and emotions that remain crucial to the meetings industry.

This is Athens-Convention & Visitors Bureau International Meetings Manager Natasha Kefala (second from left) attending the 54th edition of the meeting took place in Ljubljana.

Under the theme “The Odyssey Reinvented,” the conference will celebrate the human journey and all the aspects that made Odysseus a timeless symbol of our capacity to overcome adversity: resourcefulness and cleverness, patience and perseverance, leadership and decision-making.

The bid to host the conference was the result of a partnership between This is Athens – Convention and Visitors Bureau and four Greek professional conference organizers and members of IAPCO: AFEA, Convin, ERA, and Erasmus.

“The successful bid for the IAPCO 2026 annual meeting showcases the values that are driving This is Athens: openness and strong partnerships,” said Ioannis Georgizas, CEO of the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (ADDMA).

According to Georgizas, the position of Athens on the global conference map is strengthened through networking with important international bodies such as IAPCO, as well as cooperation with local companies to support these major events.

Athens, Greece.

“The 2026 IAPCO Annual Conference in Athens will promote our city to a targeted audience that exerts a great influence worldwide in the promotion of conference destinations,” ADDMA’s CEO said.

It is noted that This is Athens has the honorary title “Destination Partner” of IAPCO, which designates a close partner of the association for the promotion, education, and development of the meeting and events industry worldwide.

The announcement of IAPCO as host city of IAPCO’s 2026 annual meeting coincides with another Greek success for conference tourism: the election of Sissy Lignou, President of the Hellenic Association of Professional Conference Organizers (HAPCO & DES), as President of IAPCO as of 2025.

IAPCO is a non-profit association and the only international accreditation organization for professional congress organizers. The association’s mission is to raise service standards among its members and other stakeholders in the meeting industry through continuous education, collaboration with various experts, research, and data measurement.