17–19 November 2026 · Fira Barcelona Gran Via
IBTM World 2026 stand builder: rules, design and build
Exhibitek Displays is an independent IBTM World stand builder. At Fira Gran Via we design and build stands for destinations, convention bureaus, hotel groups and event suppliers, laid out around a full diary of appointments with buyers.
- Meeting tables planned first
- Plans filed through the organiser’s portal
- Construction done before dressing day
IBTM World 2026: key facts for exhibitors
Upcoming
| Dates | – |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | 17 November 08:45–18:00 18 November 08:45–19:00 19 November 08:45–17:00 |
| Venue | Fira Barcelona Gran Via Entrance through the South Access |
| Address | Av. Joan Carles I, 64, 08908 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain |
| Halls | Hall 3 |
| Edition | annual |
| Audience | Trade visitors · registration required |
| Organiser | RX |
| Last edition | about 2,500 exhibitors · about 12,000 participants (2025, IBTM World end-of-show release, 2025 (opens in a new tab)) |
| Sectors |
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| Getting there | Barcelona–El Prat airport (BCN), 10–12 km Metro L9 Sud: Fira, Europa|Fira Metro L10 Sud: Foc Train FGC L8, S3, S4, S8, S9, R5, R50, R6, R60: Europa|Fira Bus H12, V1, 46, 65, 79 4,580 parking spaces Venue guide |
| Links |
Information checked on 3 October 2026 against the organiser's website; the organiser's information prevails.
Exhibitek Displays is an independent stand builder: not the organiser of IBTM World and not one of its official contractors. The name and logo belong to RX.
What a stand at IBTM World is really for
IBTM World is RX’s global event for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events industry. National and city tourism boards, convention bureaus, hotels and resorts, congress venues, destination management companies and incentive specialists exhibit next to event-technology firms and event-service suppliers, several of them grouped in dedicated pavilions.
Entry is limited to professional and business visitors, and nobody under 18 is admitted without the organiser’s written approval. A hosted-buyer programme fills diaries with pre-scheduled appointments, so many conversations are booked before the doors open.
A destination stand at IBTM is above all a meeting space: enough tables for parallel appointments, a reception point that keeps the schedule moving, storage for printed material and a frontage that still says where you come from. We count the tables before we draw the walls, then choose the right stand format.
Engineering notes for an IBTM World stand
Hall and loads. The organiser places the show in Hall 3, entered through the South Access. Rigging points there take up to 250 kg each and the floor 5,000 kg/m²; heavier exhibits need the Operations team’s clearance.
Power. Fira supplies 400/230 V, and the order includes a socket and lighting plan. An electrician authorised by the Generalitat de Catalunya certifies the wiring, and power is connected once Fira’s Industry Service approves it. Power may never be taken from the hall’s own sockets or the cleaners’ ones.
Floor. Platforms stay within 18 cm, with hatches over the service chests. Above 5 cm a ramp is needed, built into the stand from 20 square metres, and a counter section no higher than 760 mm keeps the stand usable from a wheelchair.
Rigging. Only Fira rigs, ordered through Servifira. Banners top out at 6 m and truss at 7 m, points sit at least 1 m apart within 15 kg per square metre, and an engineer signs off any bespoke suspended structure on site before it is lifted.
IBTM World stand rules to plan for
- Height. Up to 5 m from the hall floor, 4 m for plots built entirely under the venue walkway and lower in some locations, so Operations supplies a plot drawing on request. Anything over 4 m may count as a complex structure, approved at the exhibitor’s cost.
- Complex structures. Double decks, anything over 4 m, bespoke suspended structures, stages from 600 mm and anything needing calculations are filed with drawings, structural calculations in English, a risk assessment and a method statement. The double-deck regulations give 500 mm for stages, so we treat that as the threshold.
- Double decks. Approved before the show, then inspected on site by an independent structural engineer appointed by RX. A certified technician signs a project calculated to the CTE code’s category C loads, with a fire-detection and evacuation plan above 100 square metres.
- Open sides. No open side may be more than 50% solid wall, and long walls are broken up with display items. Closing more than half needs the organiser’s permission and a 500 mm step back from the plot edge.
- Dividing walls. Each exhibitor builds its own, 2.5 m minimum and 5 m maximum, possibly with calculations over 4 m. Above 2.5 m both faces are clad, and the neighbour’s side is a plain, neutral colour.
- Fire and materials. Walls, ceilings and decorations reach C-s2,d0, hanging textiles Class 1 to UNE-EN 13773. Chipboard, particleboard and low-density fibreboard stay out of the structure, MDF is never cut on site, and permeable ceilings are recommended so the hall’s air conditioning reaches the stand.
Summary of the IBTM World 2026 Exhibitor Manual, Stand Build Regulations (opens in a new tab) (RX, 2026), consulted on 3 October 2026. The organiser's current manual prevails.
Plot already booked? Send the plan and we check it against the stand build regulations.
From plot confirmation to opening day
- Plot confirmed. We read the stand build regulations, ask Operations about limits at your location and agree height and walling with you in writing.
- About seven weeks before opening. Space-only stands, and shell-scheme stands with internal construction, file plans through the FFAIR portal with Ops Squad, the organiser’s plan team: dimensioned plans and elevations, rigging and lifting details, calculations, risk assessment, method statement and the contractor’s liability insurance of at least £2 million. Building needs a Permission to Build Certificate.
- About six weeks before. Any compressed air or gas is notified to Operations.
- Three to four weeks before. The catering management form and Gastrofira orders, then rigging, freight, internet and graphics; flooring orders follow about two weeks before opening.
- Build-up. It opens six days before the show, and construction ends on the evening two days before opening, when crates leave and the aisle carpet goes down. The last day is for dressing only. Our build and logistics process keeps those days for assembly.
- Breakdown. Contractors return through Gate 4 on Carrer Botànica on the closing evening, smaller vehicles first, and the hall is empty, waste included, by early afternoon two days later.
Key dates for IBTM World 2026
- Rigging orders (ServiFira)
- Carpet and flooring orders
- – Space-only build-up (construction finished by 21:00 on the last day)
- – Dismantling (hall clear by 14:00 on the last day)
What we take on for your IBTM World stand
A layout built on your appointments
Tables, reception and storage sized to the meetings you expect, shown in 3D before you approve.
Branding that travels
Frames and graphics reused at your next tourism fair, stored on request.
The file RX asks for
Plans, calculations, risk assessment, method statement and insurance certificate, filed on time.
IBTM questions
Exhibiting at IBTM World: what stand teams ask us
Does a shell-scheme stand at IBTM World need approved plans?
Yes, when it has internal construction. It then goes through the same portal and plan team as a space-only stand, with the same documents and the same deadline.
Does a space-only plot at IBTM World come with carpet?
No: the exhibitor brings its own floor covering, laid only with approved carpet tape, and tape left behind is charged. Our quotes include the floor.
Will our stand have power overnight at IBTM World?
Not by default: power goes off 30 minutes after closing each day. Fridges, servers or screens that must stay on need 24-hour supply ordered with the electrics.
Who inspects a double-deck stand at IBTM World?
An independent structural engineer appointed by RX, on site, after the plans have been approved. The organiser’s health and safety manager and structural engineer also walk the hall during build-up, and any remedial work is finished before the stand may open.
What do contractors need on site at IBTM World?
Fira contractor e-badges registered in advance, hi-vis vests and steel-toe boots, liability cover of at least £2 million and a live-edge procedure with fall arrest for work on raised structures. Mobile elevated work platforms need a thorough inspection within the last six months. General questions are answered in our stand-building FAQ.
Other trade fairs we build stands for
–
Smart City Expo World Congress
- Smart cities
- Enabling technologies
- Energy and environment
Gran Via · Barcelona
–
ICE Barcelona
- Casino and gaming machines
- Online gaming
- Sports betting
Gran Via · Barcelona
–
ISE
- Pro AV
- Audio
- Lighting and staging
Gran Via · Barcelona
Hosting buyers at IBTM World 2026? Start with your meeting list.
Tell us your plot, how many appointments run at once and what you need to store. We return a layout, a services plan and a line-by-line quote.
Get a quote for your stand at IBTM World
The fair is prefilled. Add your stand number, plot size and number of meeting tables, and a project manager comes back with a first approach.