Reporting on LightFair: Why This Year Feels Different

Now, in 2025, LightFair is something else. Still important. Still filled with potential. But different. Smaller. A little uncertain. And, to be blunt, under pressure.

The High Stakes of a Show We All Want to Succeed

It’s the first show under Messe Frankfurt, the global exhibition powerhouse that bought a one-third stake in LightFair in early 2024. Their involvement brings fresh energy, new ideas and international exhibition expertise to the show’s organizing body.

But more importantly — and far more precariously — LightFair remains a critical revenue source for two of the industry’s most important organizations: the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), which, along with Messe Frankfurt, comprise LightFair’s three owners.

In the 2018–2019 fiscal year, LightFair generated $3.3 million for the IES, accounting for roughly 43% of the organization’s total revenue. That single event — one week, once a year back then — nearly funded half the society responsible for developing the lighting standards used across North America and well beyond.

The IES isn’t just a standards body. It’s the standards body. It develops and maintains the lighting criteria that shape design, engineering, and compliance. The documents that dictate everything from recommended footcandles in office spaces to glare mitigation strategies for roadways? That’s IES.

The Commitment to Report, Not Cheerlead

I don’t know what the feedback from LightFair 2025 will be. I’m not predicting negativity. I’m not expecting failure. But I am bracing for nuance. And whatever the consensus becomes — whether positive, mixed, or critical — we’ll report it. Honestly. Respectfully. Without spin.

Because that’s what our readers expect. And that’s what this industry deserves.

It’s not always easy. The people who run LightFair are good people. They work hard. They believe in the show. And yes, they advertise with us, too. But our readers — Lighting People across North America — rely on Inside Lighting to give it to them straight. That trust is everything. And it only works if we’re transparent about what we’re seeing and hearing.

So we’ll tell you what exhibitors are saying. What attendees are experiencing. What feels new, and what might need fixing. We’ll highlight wins and note shortcomings. And we’ll do it with the care and clarity that comes from actually wanting LightFair to succeed — not just this year, but long-term.