Europe's leading fitness and health trade show — bringing together exhibitors, operators, brands, and professionals from across the global fitness industry.
FIBO 2026 is the 41st edition of Europe's defining fitness and health trade event. Spanning four days at Koelnmesse in Cologne, it brings together 955 exhibitors and over 150,000 visitors across 15+ halls, with a programme exceeding 550 sessions, workshops, and live demonstrations. It is simultaneously a consumer expo, a professional congress, and an industry strategy forum — each operating on different days and under different ticketing structures.
The professional programme (Thursday–Friday) is where serious thinking happens. It is organised across several distinct stages run by different bodies: DHfPG and BSA-Akademie deliver the science-and-practice-oriented FIBO Congress in German; EuropeActive runs the EHFF and co-presents the English-language Future Forum focused on digital and AI; specialist partners organise the Longevity in Hospitality Summit and the Women's Leadership Summit.
The 2026 programme reflects an industry working through a moment of significant transition — GLP-1 medication disrupting gym membership models, wearables generating data but lacking coaching intelligence, longevity shifting from wellness amenity to commercial driver, and AI entering fitness operations in a piecemeal, product-level way. Against this backdrop, the macro question of what AI means for society at large — and how that systemic shift flows downstream into health behaviour, community, and the belonging economy — is emerging as one of the defining themes of the event.
Audience: Fitness operators, tech founders, investors, and digital health professionals looking at the next wave of innovation. Focus: How AI, data, and emerging technology are reshaping the fitness industry — from operational tools to macro societal shifts. The most commercially-minded and forward-looking track at FIBO.
| Speaker | Organisation | Topic / Session |
|---|---|---|
|
Natalia Karbasova
Founder & CEO
|
FitTech Club |
Digital revenue models and scalable growth strategies for fitness
VC/SaaS lens on fitness business models
AIRevenue Models
|
|
Daniel Sollner
Sr. Business Development Manager
|
Garmin Health |
From Wearable Data to Insights: Unlocking Personal Data for AI-Powered Coaching
Joint session with Fabrizio Colciago (UPTIVO)
AIWearablesPersonal Data
|
|
Fabrizio Colciago
CEO
|
UPTIVO |
AI-powered coaching using wearable data and personal analytics
Joint session with Daniel Sollner (Garmin Health)
AIWearables
|
|
Nicolai Rolli
Speaker
|
— |
Welcome to the Fifth Industrial Revolution
Macro-level AI and societal transformation
Macro AISociety
|
Audience: Senior women professionals, executives, and founders across fitness, health, and sport. Focus: Leadership, entrepreneurship, AI adoption, and mental performance in the context of the fitness industry. A paid-ticket, curated day — sessions blend practical business skills with broader cultural and technology themes.
| Speaker | Organisation | Topic / Session |
|---|---|---|
|
Judith Williams
Investor & Entrepreneur
|
German Shark Tank (DHDL) |
How to Win Over a Shark
What decision-makers look for in pitches and leadership teams
PitchingInvestment
|
|
Karl Foster
Head of AI; Former CTO, GymNation
|
Sport Alliance |
Achieving ROI in AI in the Health & Fitness Industry
16:05–16:45 · Practical AI implementation for fitness operators
AIROI
|
|
Pinky Ghadiali
Speaker / Coach
|
— |
Imposter to Impact: Mastering Difficult Conversations
11:00–11:30 · Workshop format
Leadership
|
|
Anna Mathur
Psychotherapist & Author
|
The Therapy Edit Podcast |
The Case for Slowing Down
16:55–17:35 · Pace and recovery in senior leadership
Mental HealthLeadership
|
|
Martina Buchal
Facilitator
|
— |
Networking Walk
08:00–09:00 · Opening session
Networking
|
Audience: Fitness professionals, personal trainers, gym managers, physiotherapists, and health coaches seeking continuing education. Focus: Evidence-based training science, nutrition, mental fitness, coaching methodology, and business management — organised by Germany's leading fitness education institutions (DHfPG & BSA-Akademie). AI competence and longevity are confirmed topic clusters for 2026, reflecting how the profession is grappling with technology-driven change.
| Speaker | Background | Topic / Session |
|---|---|---|
|
Denise Schindler
Paralympic Medallist, TV Host
|
Professional Moderator / Speaker |
Vom Glück, Pech zu haben — How Setbacks Shape Resilience
Keynote · 10 personal resilience principles from elite sport and media
ResilienceKeynote
|
|
Christian Redl
World-Record Freediver
|
30+ years elite performance |
Questioning Mental Limits and Unlocking Human Potential
Keynote · Mental performance and human capability
PerformanceKeynote
|
Audience: Hotel executives, spa directors, resort operators, and wellness investors exploring longevity as a guest experience and revenue driver. Focus: The convergence of hospitality and health — how hotels and resorts are building longevity programmes, integrating recovery science, and repositioning wellness from a facility amenity to a core business model. The macro health economy themes — longevity economy, mental health, and future guest expectations — connect directly with the broader Belonging Economy narrative.
| Speaker | Organisation | Topic / Session |
|---|---|---|
|
Anna Bjurstam
Wellness Pioneer, Strategic Advisor
|
Six Senses & Raison d'Être |
Opening Keynote: Paradigm Shift from Classical Wellness to Integrated Longevity Ecosystems
LongevityWellness
|
|
Dr. Smith Johnston
Flight Surgeon, Aerospace Medicine
|
Timeshifter / NASA |
The Biggest Opportunity in Hospitality? Connecting Space, People, and Purpose into Healing Environments
Mental health as a core guest expectation
Mental HealthLongevity
|
|
Stuart Greif
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer
|
Forbes Travel Guide |
Future Guest Trends: What the Next Decade of Travel Looks Like
Future Trends
|
|
Susanna Søeberg
Researcher
|
Søeberg Institute |
Recovery, Thermal Therapies, Jetlag Management
Recovery
|
|
Lindsay Madden-Nadeau
Executive
|
Red Sea Global |
Global Longevity Economy at the Hospitality–Health–Lifestyle Intersection
Longevity EconomyGlobal Trends
|
|
Lilian Roten
—
|
Swissôtel / Design Journey |
Implementation of Longevity Concepts in Hotels
Implementation
|
|
Kyp Charalambous
Executive
|
Kerzner International |
Practical Longevity Implementation Insights
Longevity
|
|
Jakob Fässler
—
|
Hotel Sonnenalp |
Case Studies in Longevity Concept Adoption
Case Study
|
Audience: C-suite executives, gym chain operators, franchise owners, investors, and policy-makers from Europe's fitness industry. Focus: The strategic and commercial future of the European health and fitness market — market data, consumer trends, wearables, GLP-1 disruption, and next-generation demographics (Gen Z/Alpha). Runs the day before FIBO opens and sets the agenda tone for the whole event.
| Speaker | Organisation | Topic / Session |
|---|---|---|
|
Phillip Mills
Founder
|
Les Mills International |
Turning Insights into Action
Panel: market intelligence to strategy
Strategy
|
|
Lauren Cody
Brand President
|
Orangetheory Fitness |
Turning Insights into Action (Panel)
Strategy
|
|
Chris Rondeau
Former CEO
|
Planet Fitness |
Fireside Chat — President's Council Summit
Invitation only, evening event
Fireside
|
|
Anna Bjurstam
Wellness Pioneer
|
Six Senses |
Redefining the Future of Fitness and Wellness
Keynote on longevity
Longevity
|
|
Wais Shaifta
—
|
— |
GLP-1 Medication and Sustainable Health Outcomes
Keynote
Health Tech
|
|
Benoît Vancauwenberghe
—
|
— |
Gen Z & Gen Alpha
Keynote on next generation consumer behaviour
SocietyConsumer Trends
|
|
Mohammed Iqbal
Chief Strategy Officer
|
ABC Fitness |
Moderator: Wearables in 2025 — Market Insights and the Road Ahead
WearablesMarket Data
|
|
Herman Rutgers
Ambassador
|
EuropeActive |
European Health & Fitness Market Report 2026
With Karsten Hollasch (Deloitte)
Market Report
|
|
Kai Troll
CEO
|
EuropeActive |
Opening and Closing
Host
|