Light + Intelligent Building North America Replaces LightFair

Show owners expand scope and distance from LightFair legacy. Firmly “not a rebrand.”

It started as Lighting World in the early ’80s. Then came LightFair; bigger, glossier, and for three decades, the undisputed anchor of the North American lighting calendar. Now, its latest incarnation arrives under a longer name and broader scope: Light + Intelligent Building North America, debuting March 15–18, 2027, in Las Vegas.

Messe Frankfurt, together with equal co-owners IALD and IES, is behind the new show. It will take place in the exact same venue and on the same dates once held by LightFair 2027. But organizers insist "this launch is not a rebrand."

The name is new. The positioning is broader. And the messaging is all about convergence — lighting and building technologies, under one roof. Messe Frankfurt operates more than a dozen global shows focused on lighting and building technologies, and Light + Intelligent Building North America appears poised to similarly broaden the scope of the event formerly known as LightFair.

Still, the implications for the inagural 2027 event are significant. A second major lighting trade show, LEDucation, opens just 19 days later in New York City. That puts both events in unprecedented proximity, with major logistical and strategic consequences for potential attendees, exhibitors and other lighting people.