Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has reported securing the greatest number of future events in a calendar year in the company’s 55-year history. The bureau secured 81 business events that will attract around 59,000 delegates, staying 253,000 days and generating more A$252m in future direct expenditure to Australia’s gateway city.
The statistics represent a small ray of good news released just a week after two gunmen targetted a Jewish festival on Bondi Bach and murdered 15 people in Australia’s worst mass shooting for 30 years. “Indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State, allegedly committed by a father and son,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said of the Bondi Bach attack at a news conference.
Australia has seen a string of antisemitic incidents in the past 16 months, prompting the head of the nation’s main intelligence agency to declare that antisemitism was his top priority in terms of threat to life.
With the Australian government under pressure, BESydney CEO Amanda Lampe tried to paint a more upbeat view, at least for business events: “We are going into 2026 with the best outlook for Sydney’s business events forward calendar in the company’s history.”
“These [business] events are a fantastic stimulus for the New South Wales government’s new Visitor Economy Strategy 2035 in which business events were enshrined for the first time as a key driver of economic growth for the state”, she added, saying the goal was to further push these records in 2026, particularly with the rapid increase in Sydney’s global air connectivity with the 24-hour Western Sydney International Airport opening in 2026 and Sydney Airport’s exciting expansion plans.
A selection of the 2025 bid wins include: International Labour and Employment Relations Association World Congress 2027 over 5 days, with 1,000 delegates and an estimated direct expenditure of A$4m. World Hydropower Congress 2027 over three days, with 700 delegates and an estimated direct expenditure of $2.6m. Asia-Pacific Circular Hotspot 2026, over three days with 400 delegates and an estimated direct expenditure of $865k. IEEE World Congress on Services 2026, over four days with 500 delegates and an estimated direct expenditure of $2.8m. Allianz Life Indonesia Annual Agency Incentive 2026, over 1,000 delegates and an estimated direct expenditure of $6m.
The prior record year was 2019 when BESydney secured events that generated $249.8 million in direct expenditure for New South Wales.