Event industry trades at the standardization table
Event industry professionals, this concerns you! From now on, you have access to a new body to develop best practices for your sector: an international standardization committee, called ISO/TC 354 , based in Geneva within the International Organization for Standardization, led by AFNOR on behalf of France, and distinct from the tourism-specific standardization committee (ISO/TC 228) which previously hosted this work. These best practices will become voluntary standards, which will act as a common language and common ways of doing things, and will immediately facilitate your integration into the market as soon as you use them.
For a better understanding, let’s take the example of a standard that has become a landmark in the events industry: ISO 20121, initiated in 2012 and updated in 2024 to coincide with the Olympic Games. Known as NF ISO 20121 in France, it provides an unambiguous list, worldwide, of the strings that need to be pulled to make your event a responsible one: waste management, soft mobility, gender equality, etc. Crisis management, data protection, health, safety and security, digital tools (augmented reality, ticketing, etc.), accessibility… Responsibility and sustainability are by no means the only issues to be addressed by this new committee. In fact, it will be dealt with in a special sub-committee, led by the UK, inherited from what used to be a project committee
, in ISO jargon. All types of events are involved: sports meetings, cultural festivals, trade fairs, ceremonies, etc. Finally, the event industry is recognized as a strategic sector at international level. Within its standardization committee, it will be able to structure and harmonize its best practices.
says Yann Orhan, in charge of this sector at AFNOR Normalisation. His colleague Etienne Hubert will be responsible for coordinating the work on TC 354.
Events: a $2.5 trillion market by 2035
The doors are therefore open to all players in the sector: organizers (agencies, NGOs, local authorities), technical providers (sound, lighting, scenography), logistics providers (transport, accommodation, catering, security, waste management), accommodation providers (convention halls, exhibition centers, stadiums, hotels, public spaces), service providers (caterers, decorators, entertainers, photographers, interpreters), tech pros (ticketing, mobile applications, virtual or augmented reality), media and communications (communications agencies, influencers, trade press) and participants (exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, partners). According to Yann Orhan, the global events industry market will reach nearly $740 billion in 2021, and is expected to reach $2,500 billion by 2035, with a strong focus on digital transformation and CSR. ” I invite professionals from all over the world to take part in this momentum and share their expertise, which will be the standards for tomorrow’s event industry,” said Hugh Jones, who represents the International Union of Event Organizers (UFI) and chairs TC 354, in a press release. AFNOR is organizing an information webinar on November 6, 2025 for interested French professionals. Click here!
Labels for responsible events
AFNOR Certification, a subsidiary of the AFNOR Group, is the exclusive certification body for the Terrain d’Égalité label , created in 2023 by the French Ministry of Sports for major international sporting events committed to gender equality and to combating all forms of discrimination. It is based on a set of specifications comprising some twenty criteria. AFNOR Certification is also the sole provider of the “Événement Égalité Femmes-Hommes” label , which certifies that an event has been prepared and held with respect for gender equality. Events awarded the label in 2025 include the UNOC 13 Summit and the Élysée Summit for Action on Artificial Intelligence.
The creation of a separate body for events will result in the reallocation of the following normative work:
- ISO 22379:2022 Safety and resilience – Guidelines for hosting and organizing city or region-wide events (inherited from ISO/TC 292/WG7)
- ISO 18983 Guidelines for hybrid meeting services (inherited from ISO/TC 228/WG20)
- ISO 25639-1 Exhibitions, fairs and congresses – Vocabulary (inherited from ISO/TC 228/WG20)
