GITEX Global 2026: The Exhibitor’s Guide to Expo City Dubai (7 to 11 Dec)

GITEX Global 2026 runs from 7 to 11 December 2026 at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai. After 45 years at Dubai World Trade Centre, the show has moved, and the date has shifted from October to December. If you exhibited at GITEX before, almost every assumption you carry from previous editions now needs checking: the venue, the accreditation, the permit process, the logistics route and the season.

One thing matters more than the rest, and it is the reason to read this now rather than in October. Your DWTC-accredited contractor may not be accredited at the new venue. Dubai Exhibition Centre maintains its own approved contractor list and its own technical department. Discovering that in November is not a problem you can solve in November.

GITEX Global 2026 at a glance

• Dates: 7 to 11 December 2026 (Scale Summit 7 December, main exhibition 8 to 11 December)
• Venue: Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai
• Edition: 46th, branded GITEX 5.0
• Scale (2025): 200,000+ attendees from 180+ countries, around 6,800 exhibiting companies, 400+ government entities
• Co-located with: Expand North Star, now running alongside the main show
• Audience: CTOs, CIOs, government technology leaders, enterprise buyers, investors and founders
• Best for: Technology, AI, cybersecurity, cloud, telecom and govtech companies selling into MEASA

When and where is GITEX 2026?

GITEX Global 2026 takes place 7 to 11 December 2026. The opening day, 7 December, is the GITEX Scale Summit, a leadership programme on AI economies, policy and investment. The main exhibition floor runs 8 to 11 December at Dubai Exhibition Centre inside Expo City Dubai.

The move follows a multi-billion-dirham expansion of the venue, approved under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, intended to make Dubai Exhibition Centre the largest purpose-built indoor events space in the region and roughly 1.5 times the size of the old venue. Expand North Star, the startup and investor arm, now runs alongside the main show rather than as a separate satellite event.

The date change matters as much as the venue. GITEX has left its long-held October slot and landed in December, positioning the show inside Dubai’s peak tourism season under a citywide programme organisers are calling TechCation. For exhibitors, peak season means one thing: everything costs more and books out earlier.

Getting there is different too. Expo City sits off the E11 highway, roughly 35 to 45 minutes from central Dubai and from most of the hotels GITEX visitors have historically used. There is direct metro access on the Route 2020 line, and the site has far more parking than the old venue, with purpose-built multi-storey car parks. It also sits close to Al Maktoum International Airport, which helps international freight and arrivals.

Note: some listings place the 7 December Scale Summit at Dubai World Trade Centre while the exhibition runs at Expo City. Confirm the summit venue with the organiser if your team is attending both.

What actually changed from DWTC?

This is the section worth reading twice if you have exhibited at GITEX before. Factor by factor, previous editions at DWTC against 2026 at Expo City:

• Venue authority: DWTC technical department before, DEC technical department now. New permit process, new forms, new timeline.
• Contractor accreditation: the DWTC approved list no longer applies. DEC accreditation is required, so verify your builder holds it, in writing.
• Ceiling height: roughly 8 to 12 metres at DWTC, around 15 to 17 metres now. Double-deck and overhead branding become far more viable.
• Hall layout: parallel halls and corridors before, open pavilion spaces with longer sightlines now. Height and visibility from distance matter more.
• Location: Sheikh Zayed Road was central; Expo City is 35 to 45 minutes out. Longer logistics routes, so add days to the freight plan.
• Season: October before, December now, in peak season. Labour, hotels and logistics all carry premiums.
• Scale: roughly 1.5 times larger. Longer walking distances, and it is harder to be found.

Two of these deserve expanding, because they are the ones that cost real money.

Accreditation and permits. Dubai Exhibition Centre and Dubai World Trade Centre are separate venue authorities. A contractor on the DWTC approved list does not automatically hold DEC accreditation, and the permit application runs through a different technical department with different requirements. Ask any prospective builder for their DEC accreditation documentation rather than a verbal assurance, and confirm they have actually managed DEC submissions before.

Ceiling height. This is the opportunity hidden in the move. Going from roughly 8 to 12 metres of clearance to 15 to 17 metres changes what is possible. Double-deck stands, tall hero structures and overhead branding all work better at the new venue, and in a hall this large with these sightlines, vertical presence is how visitors find you from across the floor. Exhibitors who simply rebuild their 2025 stand in the 2026 hall will look smaller than they did last year.

How much does a GITEX 2026 stand cost?

Budget more than you did at DWTC. Stand costs at Expo City are running roughly 10 to 20% higher than equivalent GITEX builds at the old venue, driven by logistics complexity, longer material transport and the competitive environment of an expanded show. For a professional presence at GITEX, plan on a minimum of around AED 2,500 per square metre, because the competitive standard at this show is high.

• Shell scheme upgrade (9 to 18 sqm): AED 500 to 900 per sqm, AED 4,500 to 16,200 build cost. New venue means new graphics templates.
• Modular (18 to 36 sqm): AED 1,200 to 1,800 per sqm, AED 21,600 to 64,800 build cost. Freight to Expo City adds AED 2,000 to 5,000.
• Mid-range custom (36 to 54 sqm): AED 2,000 to 3,500 per sqm, AED 72,000 to 189,000 build cost. Technology integration is standard here.
• Premium custom with LED (54 to 100 sqm): AED 3,500 to 6,000 per sqm, AED 189,000 to 600,000 build cost. Interactive and LED expected at this level.
• Large island or flagship (100+ sqm): AED 4,000 to 8,000+ per sqm, AED 400,000 to 800,000+ build cost. Double-deck, full technology suite.

Build cost only. Floor space is quoted separately by the organiser, and venue technical fees, VAT and freight sit on top. Our Dubai exhibition stand cost guide breaks down the full picture including performance bonds, rigging and electrical.

Add a December premium on top of all of it. Peak season means contractor labour, hotels and logistics providers all charge more than they did for an October show, and hotel rates near Expo City can run 25 to 40% above the equivalent October rate. A 10 to 15% contingency above your usual GITEX budget is realistic rather than cautious.

Is it too late to book a stand for GITEX 2026?

Not too late, but the options are narrowing, and it is worth being straight about that.

A custom stand needs roughly 10 to 14 weeks from signed brief to show-ready, and build-up starts in the final days of November. Working back from that, mid-August is the last comfortable window for a mid-size custom build, and it is already tight for a large or double-deck stand, which needs structural engineering and DEC approval on top of fabrication.

Here is what is realistically still open:

• Now through August: mid-size and premium custom builds. Brief immediately and the timeline works.
• September: compact custom stands. Design scope narrows, and rush premiums start appearing.
• October: modular and shell scheme upgrades. Custom is effectively closed unless a contractor has capacity to spare.
• November: graphics and furniture on an existing structure.

The constraint is not only your own timeline. Quality contractors commit their December capacity earlier than usual this year, because the venue move, the new date and the increased show scale have pulled everyone’s planning forward. The question to ask a builder now is not just what they can design, but whether they still have fabrication capacity for December.

What do exhibitors get wrong at GITEX specifically?

Three things, and they are particular to this show.

Treating the stand as decoration rather than proof. At GITEX, your audience is technology buyers evaluating whether your capability matches your marketing. A technology company with a static, non-interactive stand is making a statement about itself, and not a good one. The credible minimum for a mid-market technology brand is an interactive demo station, a dynamic display running brand-specific motion content, and a digital lead capture system that actually connects to your CRM. Below that, you look like a company that talks about digital transformation without doing any.

Designing for the old hall. Messaging that was legible at DWTC from 15 metres needs to work from 20 to 25 metres in the new open pavilion spaces. That means bolder hierarchy, fewer words and more vertical presence. The stand that worked in 2025 will underperform in 2026 without adjustment.

Underestimating the follow-up. With 200,000 attendees, the volume of conversations at GITEX is unlike any other Dubai show, and the stand’s job is to filter rather than simply attract. Segmenting buyer, partner, investor and government conversations at the point of capture, rather than sorting a pile of scans afterwards, is what turns show traffic into pipeline. Our extra services cover booth personnel, on-site operations and content, so the stand is staffed and run rather than just built.

Planning your GITEX 2026 stand

Orchestra Media has delivered more than 1,200 international exhibition projects across over 100 countries in 20 years, specialising in defence, aerospace and technology, for clients including Boeing, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, SAAB, Jetex and Saudi Aramco. GITEX sits alongside IDEX, EDEX, Dubai Airshow and CES among the shows we build for, and we work at the full range of scale, from a 20 square metre booth to a 1,500 square metre pavilion at Dubai Airshow.

Two projects show what that looks like on the floor: a 540 square metre immersive lounge for Jetex at EBACE Geneva, and a 351 square metre national pavilion for Azersilah Defence at the World Defence Show in Riyadh. Both are in our success stories .

For GITEX specifically, the practical value of a single accountable team is higher than usual, because the venue move multiplies the number of things that can go wrong between design and doors opening. Booth design and construction runs from brief through venue approval to on-site handover, and space booking handles floor position. For companies exhibiting across multiple shows a year, the Global Alliance programme holds brand consistency from Dubai to Amsterdam to Washington under one contract, which matters if GITEX is one stop on a calendar that also includes IDEX 2027 in January.

Plan your GITEX 2026 stand

A new venue rewards exhibitors who plan for it and punishes those who assume last year’s stand will do. The ceiling height is an opportunity, the accreditation is a risk, and the calendar is tighter than it looks.

If you are exhibiting at GITEX Global 2026, book a free consultation and we will map your stand, your floor position and your build timeline in one conversation.