Fespa Middle East is returning to Dubai with its third edition from 13 to 15 January 2026 at the Dubai Exhibition Centre. A regional expo for the specialty printing and signage industry in the MENA region, comprising the Middle East and North Africa, Fespa Middle East showcases the latest technologies, offers networking opportunities, and provides educational content for professionals.
The Fespa team organized a virtual press conference on 4 November 2025, where CEO Neil Felton, Michael Ryan, head of Fespa Global Print Expo, and Duncan MacOwan, head of marketing and events, addressed the members of the global press community on the latest updates on Fespa exhibitions in 2026 and shared insights on the upcoming show.
“The Middle East show has grown strongly and quickly. A lot of the lessons we’re learning in Europe are actually playing out in the Middle East as well. I think the future of this event is to make sure that we can start to bring additional markets, such as corrugated, textile, and digital signage, and grow the size of the show in the Middle East quite substantially. It’s one of my proudest shows that we’ve ever launched. We started from zero to a very sizable show in the first year,” Felton responded to a question from Behnam Ghasemi, editor-in-chief at Kohan Textile Journal (KTJ), a publication in the Middle East and North Africa textile industry.
“I think it’s got a lot of opportunity, and a lot of it will be learning some of the things that happen in Europe on ways in which we can diversify and actually improve the market,” he added.
Felton said that although the show is in Dubai, there’s massive growth potential in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. “The entire region is a really fast-growing area,” Felton said, while noting that each region has their own little speciality. Jordan, for example, is very strong with regard to textiles, while some really good packaging is coming up in Northern Africa, he explained.
In Felton’s opinion, this provides a perfect opportunity for those within the region to go and see what’s really happening. “It’s all about the content. There’s no point just having a show with exhibitors. We have to have a show that has really good content, which educates the region. I think that’s what’s been missing in the region for a long time. It’s about how we can develop the industry and grow the industry, and help the industry realize these massive opportunities which we’ve talked about,” he said.
The inaugural Fespa Middle East took place at the Dubai Exhibition Centre from 29 to 31 January 2024, and featured a line-up of 150 brands and a comprehensive feature program. The second edition was also held at the Dubai Exhibition Centre from 20 to 22 January 2025.
Founded in 1962, Fespa is a global federation of associations for the screen printing, digital printing and textile printing community.
