Attendance at GAMA Expo in 2026 broke the attendance record set last year, up over 1,000 in just two years. Total attendance was 3,827, up around 12% from the 3,425 attendees reported for 2025 (see “GAMA Expo 2025 New Record”), and up around 40% and over 1000 attendees from the 2,736 attendees in 2024. The 2026 growth rate was down from the 25% growth in 2025. Unlike previous years, GAMA did not report any breakdowns by category; over 1000 retailers attended in 2025.
We noted a number of improvements at the 2026 show, including an even more robust exhibit hall and expanded exhibit hours, now spread over three days instead of two. Publishers reported strong retailer flow all three days, an improvement over 2025, when retailers were sparse the second day of the exhibit hall. On the programming side, displays outside of the presentation rooms indicated the event inside, and pre-ticketing matched room capacities to the number of attendees.
This was the last year in Louisville for the event, which moves to Baltimore next year (see “GAMA Expo Moves”). GAMA had originally planned to stay in Louisville one more year, after extending their contract as a requirement to move the 2025 dates and avoid a conflict with Toy Fair (see “GAMA Moves 2025 Expo Dates”). But with the Kentucky International Convention Center maxed out, GAMA made the decision to pay a fee in order to terminate the contract early and enable the move to Baltimore for 2027.
Source: ICV2
