Andy Devaney
If you want a neat snapshot of how the industry has changed, start with Elevate. The UK’s flagship get-together for physical activity, health and wellness has opened registration for Elevate 2026, returning to ExCeL London on 17–18 June 2026—and doing so with the kind of confidence you only get after a decade of proving you can pull the right people into the same room.
Elevate’s 10th anniversary isn’t being pitched as a nostalgic lap of honour. The organisers are leaning into a bigger point: the sector doesn’t look like it did in 2016, and the show’s footprint is expanding with it. Core fitness still has its seat at the table, but it’s now sharing the spotlight with recovery, longevity, weight management, anti-ageing, physical activity, wellness and performance—because that’s where the conversation (and the spend) has gone.
When and where is Elevate 2026?
Elevate 2026 takes place at ExCeL London on 17–18 June 2026, bringing professionals from across the physical activity and health landscape together under one roof. The audience mix is as broad as the mission statement: gyms and studios, leisure operators, sports clubs, education, physiotherapists, healthcare teams and private practice practitioners—plus the suppliers who want their attention.
For anyone tracking the UK market, the date-and-venue detail matters. ExCeL is a proper signal that Elevate intends to stay big, central and easy to access—exactly what you want from a show that positions itself as a meeting point for decision-makers.
What’s new for Elevate’s 10th anniversary edition
The headline is simple: a decade in, Elevate is adding “legacy sessions” designed to reflect on industry progress and, more importantly, point the nose towards what happens next. That’s a smart move. Anniversaries can either become a museum tour or a launchpad; Elevate 2026 is clearly trying to be the latter.
The organisers are also set to recognise Elevate’s founding partners—those who have supported the show since its launch in 2016 and helped it become a fixture in the calendar.
What to expect on the exhibition floor
Elevate 2026 is positioning its exhibition as a mirror of today’s “physical activity and health ecosystem”—a phrase that can sound like conference-speak until you see what it means in practice: start-ups alongside established brands, frontline practitioners alongside senior decision-makers, and a spread of solutions that now runs well beyond equipment and programming.
In other words, if your world includes recovery modalities, longevity positioning, weight management services, or performance-led wellness offerings, Elevate is telling you this is your patch too.
Education theatres: Debate, Generate, Accelerate and Collaborate
Alongside the exhibition floor, Elevate 2026 will deliver a two-day, multi-theatre education programme, supported by structured networking opportunities. The core stages return as four theatres—Debate, Generate, Accelerate and Collaborate—with additional partner theatres to broaden the programme.
The best trade shows don’t just showcase what’s new; they make sense of it. Elevate is clearly trying to do both, putting learning and conversation on equal footing with product discovery.
Industry polls begin now to shape the 2026 agenda
In a move that feels both modern and practical, Elevate is running a series of polls across its social media channels starting now. The aim is to explore the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the sector—and then feed those insights directly into the 2026 show.
It’s a useful mechanism, provided the industry uses it well: honest feedback, real priorities, fewer vanity answers. If it works, it should mean the programme reflects what professionals are actually dealing with rather than what looks good on a slide.
Lucy Findlay-Beale, Event Director at Elevate, says: “Opening registration for Elevate 2026 is a significant moment for us, as we prepare to celebrate 10 years of bringing the industry together. Over that time, both Elevate and the sector itself have evolved considerably, and our anniversary edition will reflect that change.
“Today, the physical activity sector encompasses far more than traditional fitness. By engaging the industry through social media polls ahead of the event, we’re ensuring that the conversations, content and learning at Elevate 2026 are shaped by what really matters to professionals right now.”
Who should attend Elevate 2026?
If you’re responsible for a budget, a service line, or an outcomes conversation—this is aimed at you. Elevate 2026 is built for:
- Gym, studio and leisure operators looking for solutions that improve retention, results and revenue
- Practitioners in physiotherapy, healthcare and private practice who want to stay aligned with the wider sector
- Brands and suppliers launching into the UK market or sharpening positioning across recovery, longevity, wellness and performance
- Education and sports organisations working at the sharp end of participation and delivery
And if you simply want to understand where the industry is heading—what’s gaining traction, what’s fading out, and what’s being repackaged for the fifth time—Elevate remains one of the most efficient ways to take the temperature.
How to register for a free place
To secure a free place, registration is now open at www.elevatearena.com.
