ISPO to move from Munich to Amsterdam in 2026
An event organiser based in Guildford, near London, Raccoon Media Group, has set up a joint venture with Messe München. As a result, Raccoon will have “operational leadership” of the European ISPO event from 2026 and will move the exhibition to Amsterdam.
This means the 2025 event, which will take place in Munich from November 30-December 2, will be the last ISPO the Bavarian city hosts. The companies said key figures from Messe München would be part of the event’s new leadership structure.
Raccoon Media launched in 2018 with the setting up of the National Running Show in the UK. Since then, it has gone on to set up running-focused events in Amsterdam and Boston. Its US events also include a snowsport and outdoor sports event, with Boston, again, as the host city. It will hold a running exhibition in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in 2026.
It told sportstextiles it had already been working hard behind the scenes to pave the way for ISPO’s move from Munich to Amsterdam. It has confirmed November 3-5, 2026, as the dates of next year’s exhibition. It said these earlier dates would avoid key international holidays and align more strategically with buying cycles.
With regard to the venue, Raccoon Media said Amsterdam would represent “a more globally connected marketplace” and be more accessible for “a broader international audience”. It explained that these changes would “futureproof the event for the evolving demands of the global sports and outdoor market”.
ISPO 2026 will open with a Leaders’ Summit, for which Raccoon has already confirmed headline speakers. These will include filmmaker and mountaineer Jimmy Chin, founder of The North Face, Hap Klopp, UEFA vice-president Professor Laura McAllister, deputy chair of Pentland Group, Andy Rubin, the chief executive of Burton, John Lacy, and former chief sustainability officer of Ikea, Pia Heidenmark Cook.
The joint venture will have no involvement in the ISPO exhibitions in China. ISPO Shanghai last took place in July 2025. ISPO Beijing is scheduled to run next in 2026, but while Messe München has not yet confirmed dates for the event in China’s capital city, it has confirmed to sportstextiles that ISPO Beijing and ISPO Shanghai remain under its ownership and form no part of the new joint venture.
