What should a brand plan before exhibiting at IDEX 2027?
A brand planning an IDEX 2027 stand should settle five things before build-up: its meeting objectives, the exhibit list and its paperwork, the organiser’s portal tasks and deadlines, team travel and accreditation, and the content that will run on the stand. IDEX 2027 runs from 25 to 29 January 2027 at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, so most of this work falls in November and December 2026.
This guide is for marketing, events and procurement teams at defence and security companies preparing for IDEX and NAVDEX 2027. It covers the planning that sits with the exhibitor rather than the stand contractor, so nothing important is left until the last fortnight.
In This Guide
- What does IDEX 2027 mean for your planning calendar?
- What should an IDEX exhibitor plan, and when?
- How should you set objectives and book meetings before IDEX?
- What exhibits can you bring, and what paperwork do they need?
- Which organiser tasks sit with the exhibitor?
- How should you prepare your team, travel and accreditation?
- What content needs sign-off before build-up?
- How do you follow up after IDEX closes?
- How does Levo Exhibitions support IDEX exhibitors?
- Frequently asked questions
1. What Does IDEX 2027 Mean for Your Planning Calendar?
IDEX, the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, runs from 25 to 29 January 2027 at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi alongside NAVDEX 2027. It is organised by ADNEC Group in strategic partnership with Tawazun Council and the UAE Ministry of Defence, and has been held every two years since 1993.
Three details shape the calendar for this edition.
| What changed | What it means for exhibitors |
|---|---|
| The dates moved | When ADNEC Group confirmed the 2027 edition in February 2025, it announced 21 to 25 January 2027. Current listings give 25 to 29 January 2027. Check any travel, freight or crew bookings made against the earlier dates. |
| The show is earlier than the last edition | IDEX 2025 ran in February. A late January opening means production and approvals overlap with Christmas and New Year, when head office sign-offs tend to slow down. |
| WHX Dubai runs the same week | WHX Dubai 2027 takes place from 25 to 28 January 2027 at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City. Groups exhibiting at both, or sharing staff and AV suppliers, need crews, kit and people in two cities at once. |
By mid November there are about ten weeks to opening day. That is workable for a single-level custom stand if decisions come quickly. It leaves very little room for a brief that changes after the concept stage.
2. What Should an IDEX Exhibitor Plan, and When?
Run six workstreams in parallel: objectives and meetings, exhibits and paperwork, stand design and approval, organiser portal tasks, team and travel, and content. Your stand contractor owns the build. Most of the items that delay an IDEX stand sit with the exhibitor.
| Workstream | Who leads it | Aim to finish by |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting objectives and target delegations | Exhibitor (sales, business development) | Mid November 2026 |
| Exhibit list: models, equipment, screens | Exhibitor (product, engineering) | Mid November 2026 |
| Stand brief, concept and design freeze | Exhibitor with stand contractor | Late November 2026 |
| Exhibit paperwork and organiser approvals | Exhibitor, with logistics agent | By the organiser’s portal deadlines |
| Stand design submission and service orders | Stand contractor, with exhibitor sign-off | By the organiser’s portal deadlines |
| Visas, hotels, badges and staff schedule | Exhibitor (events, HR) | Mid December 2026 |
| Screen content, graphics and print files | Exhibitor (marketing, compliance) | Early January 2027 |
| Lead capture and follow-up plan | Exhibitor (marketing, sales) | Before build-up |
If you want to see how the stand itself moves from brief to build, our guide to the exhibition stand design process covers each stage.
3. How Should You Set Objectives and Book Meetings Before IDEX?
Set one measurable objective, then book the meetings that deliver it before the doors open. At a defence show, the conversations that matter are usually arranged weeks in advance, not found in the aisle.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Name the outcome | Signed agreements, qualified partner meetings, a launch to the regional press or visibility with one national buyer all lead to different stands. Pick the one that matters most. |
| List the delegations and partners you want to meet | Share the list with your in-country representatives early, and ask which days each visitor is likely to attend. |
| Count the meetings that could overlap | The peak number of simultaneous meetings tells your designer how many private rooms the stand needs. This one number changes the layout more than any finish or colour. |
| Plan around the conference programme | If your leadership is speaking at or attending the conference, build their time away from the stand into the staff schedule. |
| Agree who hosts whom | Senior visitors expect a named host. Decide which executive meets which delegation, and who covers when schedules slip. |
Bring this to your first brief. A designer who knows you need three private meetings at 11am on day one will draw a different stand from one who only knows the floor area.
4. What Exhibits Can You Bring, and What Paperwork Do They Need?
Put every item you plan to display, from scale models to live equipment, on a confirmed exhibit list early. Exhibit paperwork has its own approval path, separate from stand design. At IDEX and NAVDEX 2025, the exhibitor portal included an End User Certificate task for local and international exhibitors, completed with an itemised list and reviewed by the organiser’s operations team. Check the 2027 portal for the current requirement.
| Area | What to plan |
|---|---|
| Real or represented | Some systems can be shown full size, some only as scale models, some only on screen. Decide early, because it drives the stand structure, floor loading, power and the paperwork. |
| Home-country requirements | Export licences and government approvals for defence items are the exhibitor’s responsibility and can take time. Confirm them with your own compliance team before an item goes on the exhibit list. |
| End User Certificate | List each item with the detail the portal asks for. Changes after approval may need a fresh review, so avoid adding items late. |
| Freight and customs clearance | The 2025 edition named an official logistics agent for freight forwarding, customs clearance and on-site handling, including forklifts, cranes and storage. Heavy or oversized exhibits need delivery slots that suit the build schedule. |
| Briefing your stand contractor | Share the weight and dimensions of every heavy or large item. Floor loading, access routes, plinths and barriers all depend on the final exhibit list. |
A heavy exhibit is a structural question before it is a display question. Get the weights to your contractor first.
5. Which Organiser Tasks Sit With the Exhibitor?
IDEX manages exhibitor tasks through an online portal that lists mandatory forms, deadlines, the exhibitor manual, the official contractors list and the build-up and breakdown schedule. The portal is set up in the exhibitor’s name, so someone on your team needs to own it from the day access arrives.
| Portal area | What the exhibitor should do |
|---|---|
| Tasks and deadlines | Assign an owner for each mandatory form and check overdue items weekly. |
| Users | Add your stand contractor as a user so it can see technical requirements and submit its documents. |
| Exhibitor manual | Share the latest version with your contractor, AV supplier and logistics agent. |
| Important dates | Confirm build-up, show and breakdown timings, plus delivery rules for vehicles. |
| Official contractors and providers | Note which services must be ordered through official providers, such as power, rigging, AV, catering and travel. |
At the 2025 edition, space-only stand designs had to be approved by the organiser before construction could start on site. Expect the same in 2027 and confirm the deadline in the exhibitor manual. Your contractor prepares the drawings, but you sign off the design and you own the deadline, so ask for every submission date in writing.
One practical tip: name a single owner for the portal, and give a deputy access before the holidays.
6. How Should You Prepare Your Team, Travel and Accreditation?
Book Abu Dhabi accommodation, visas and badges for the stand team by mid December, and plan a staff schedule that covers all five days. Rooms near ADNEC go early in IDEX week, and late bookings tend to push teams further out.
| Area | What to do |
|---|---|
| Accommodation | The 2025 edition named an official travel agency for hotel reservations, visa services and car transfers. Compare its options with your own travel desk early. |
| Visas and badges | Collect passport details for every traveller in November. Allow for internal approvals and security checks before badge deadlines. |
| Transfers | Teams staying in Dubai should allow for the drive to Abu Dhabi each morning, and arrange vehicle access and parking passes where needed. |
| Staff schedule | Five days is long. Put the senior team on the days your target delegations attend, and keep two people on the stand who can answer technical questions at any time. |
| Team briefing | Brief the team before the show: key messages, who hosts which visitor, what can and cannot be discussed in open areas, and how leads are recorded. |
7. What Content Needs Sign-off Before Build-up?
Get all screen content, graphics and printed material approved by marketing and compliance by early January, because production runs across the holiday period. Defence content often needs a review that other sectors skip.
| Item | What to prepare |
|---|---|
| Screen content | Confirm screen sizes and resolutions with your stand contractor, then produce video and interactive content to that specification. Leave time for a test on site. |
| Compliance review | Check every render, video and data sheet against what can be shown publicly. Remove anything that cannot appear in an open hall. |
| Graphics files | Send final artwork by the date your contractor gives you. Late graphics are one of the commonest causes of rushed finishing on build-up days. |
| Bilingual material | Consider Arabic versions of key messages and leave-behinds for UAE and regional government visitors. |
| Press and digital | Prepare announcements, a press kit and digital leave-behinds in advance, so nobody is drafting during show days. |
8. How Do You Follow Up After IDEX Closes?
Plan follow-up before the show opens, so every meeting becomes a next step within a week of breakdown. The value of IDEX is usually counted in the months after it ends.
- Record every meeting the same day. Note the visitor’s role, interest and agreed next step.
- Follow up within five working days. Send personalised messages, starting with the delegations and partners on your original target list.
- Review against your objective. Measure results against the outcome you set, not badge scans or footfall alone.
- Write down what worked. Room use, queue points and the content that held attention are all useful for the next edition.
- Decide what to keep. IDEX is biennial, so stand elements built for reuse can be stored and refreshed for IDEX 2029 or other defence shows.
9. How Does Levo Exhibitions Support IDEX Exhibitors?
We design, build, install and dismantle custom stands at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, including at IDEX. One project manager runs the stand from the first brief to the final breakdown, working with your team on approvals and timings. Stands are fabricated in our own workshop in Dubai Investment Park by a 75+ in-house team.
| Client | Show | Stand size | Stand type |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDRA | IDEX 2025, ADNEC Abu Dhabi | 104 sqm | Technology and defence stand |
| ABIMDE (Brazilian association of defence and security industries) | IDEX 2025, ADNEC Abu Dhabi | 81 sqm | Association pavilion |
| Spetstechnoexport, Ukraine | IDEX 2025, ADNEC Abu Dhabi | 120 sqm | Export stand with scale models |
| Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic | Dubai Airshow 2025 | 136.5 sqm | National pavilion |
A straight answer on timing: inside ten weeks, a new double decker is not realistic for IDEX 2027. A well-planned single-level stand is, if the brief is settled now.
For show facts, our IDEX 2025 projects and how we plan defence stands, see our IDEX exhibition stand builder page.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is IDEX 2027?
IDEX 2027 takes place from 25 to 29 January 2027 at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, alongside NAVDEX 2027. The organiser first announced 21 to 25 January 2027, so check that any earlier bookings reflect the current dates.
What is the End User Certificate at IDEX?
At IDEX and NAVDEX 2025, the End User Certificate was a mandatory portal task for local and international exhibitors. Exhibitors listed each displayed item, and the organiser’s operations team reviewed the form. Check your 2027 exhibitor portal for the current requirement and deadline.
Do we need to bring real equipment to IDEX?
No. Many exhibitors use scale models, screens, simulators and interactive content instead of full-size equipment. The right choice depends on what you can legally and practically ship, and what your target visitors need to see.
Who handles customs clearance for IDEX exhibits?
The exhibitor is responsible for its exhibits arriving cleared and on time. At the 2025 edition, the organiser named an official logistics agent for freight forwarding, customs clearance and on-site handling. Many exhibitors appoint that agent or a forwarder experienced with defence shows.
Can our stand contractor access the IDEX exhibitor portal?
Yes. The portal lets exhibitors add users and mark them as contractors. Adding your stand contractor early lets it see technical requirements and submit its documents directly.
Is IDEX 2027 in the same week as WHX Dubai?
Yes. WHX Dubai 2027 runs from 25 to 28 January 2027 at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City, overlapping with IDEX in Abu Dhabi. Companies exhibiting at both should plan separate teams, crews and logistics for each show.
How far ahead should we brief our stand contractor for IDEX 2027?
For a biennial defence show, twelve months ahead is normal. For a single-level custom stand, about three months is workable, and a brief in November can still work if the design is approved quickly. A new two-storey stand needs considerably more time for engineering and approval, so it is not realistic for this edition at this point.
Can one stand be used at both IDEX and NAVDEX?
No. IDEX and NAVDEX run at the same time at ADNEC, and NAVDEX has its own hall and waterfront area. If you have space at both shows, each space needs its own stand. One contractor can design both with a shared brand language and coordinate the two build-ups.
Planning Your IDEX 2027 Stand?
Tell us your stand size, hall position and how many private meetings you need to run at once. A Levo Exhibitions project manager will tell you what is realistic in the time left before 25 January 2027.
WhatsApp: +971 55 552 5709
Call: +971 4 359 3600
Email: info@levoworld.com
Or request a stand design through the form.
