Global Exhibitions Day was created in January 2016 on the initiative of Sergey Alexeev, President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs and Vice-President of ExpoForum- International. The goal of the Global Exhibitions Day project is to demonstrate the significance of exhibitions for companies, the role of exhibitions in developing trade and internationalization, innovations and competitiveness of organizations. At the same time, Global Exhibitions Day is an important event for people in the exhibition sector. The holiday inspires them to future feats and allows them to see the existing career growth opportunities.

This holiday is celebrated annually and widely by the entire MICE community. For instance, in 2017 the members of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs congratulated each other during a video conference. The staff at EF International carried out a live flash mob, launching balloons with the Global Exhibitions Day logo and cutting a holiday cake. A social network campaign was a part of the Global Exhibitions Day celebration in EXPOFORUM: the staff posted messages and pictures with hashtags #GED2017.

The first ever Global Exhibitions Day, held on June 8, 2016, became a truly global event with considerable international support. The audience of the event grew significantly this year: the events were held in more than 70 countries of the world, and millions of people supported the project on social networks.