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Why people are hungrier than ever for events

Live events are a highly effective tool for creating meaningful, human connections and driving a highly-sought after sense of belonging. When curated correctly, inclusive events can become spaces where people can learn and hone skills, take action over shared values and interests, and even escape from everyday life.

But at the heart of all of these different levels of attendee interaction is one fundamental component: human connection. And it’s something that we believe that the demand will continue to grow for over the coming year.

Behaviour signals and event trends: the growth of live experiences

This desire for human connection is what’s making events and experience still such a valuable tool for brands and marketers in 2025. This behaviour signal has been reflected across a multitude of different data points, including:

In August 2023, the number of transactions related to live events in the UK was double what it was pre-pandemic in January 2020.
In the first quarter of 2024, spending on events grew by 23% and by Q3 events were the second best performing media category.
78% of Europeans say spending on experience is usually, or always, worth it (Mastercard 2024)
63% of UK consumers say that instead of discussing something they’ve bought, they’d rather discuss something they’ve experienced (Barclays 2024)

Whilst these data points signal the growth of live events throughout 2025, businesses can’t use these insights as a guarantee that their event marketing strategy will create the right kind of audience engagement. Brands will still need to work strategically in order to stand out against their competitors, and present an event offering that communicates exactly what value people can unlock from your experience.

So what insights and event trends can brands harness in order to achieve this?

People are looking to escape

Against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, political polarisation, and environmental issues, daily life is quickly becoming overwhelming for many people. To combat this constant stream of doom and gloom, people are responding by looking for new ways to escape. In particular, it seems that alternative, immersive realities are allowing people to find the support, networks, joy and human connection that real life is struggling to deliver.

Why events? Why not other forms of media for escapism?

Whilst other forms of media such as literature, TV, film, and social media will still offer people the chance to escape, not only are these sources becoming more inundated with the overwhelming facts of life people are trying to escape, they also lack the one thing that only live events can provide: authentic togetherness. It’s that extra dimension of human connection that people can only experience at a live event that is making them so sought after.

However, people want meaningful and personalised escapism

With the rise of phenomena such as ‘brain rot’ (a term that grew in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024) and the constant tide of trivial content online, people are looking for new, more profound ways to escape the noise. In addition to bringing more depth to attendee experiences, brands also need to stop thinking that they can control each individual’s event experiences. The true connection happens when brands act as facilitators, then let attendees co-create their own event experiences.

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