Now’s the time to update your calendars with this year’s dates and start planning for the biggest and most exciting outdoor industry and sporting goods trade shows of the year. We’ve also got some ideas for your social media campaigns with our comprehensive list of environmentally themed international days and months and some important dates for your CSR calendar, with our selection of diversity and inclusivity-themed international days, perfect for sporting and outdoor brands.
Updated February 2023
Jump to a topic or read the full article:
- Outdoor and sporting goods trade shows this year
- This year’s fabric trade shows for the outdoor and sporting goods industry
- Eyewear trade shows this year
- The biggest sporting events this year
- Environmental-themed “world days of”
- Notable sports and outdoor-themed “world days” this year
- International ”world days of” for your CSR campaign - inclusion and equality themed
- Fun and unusual “Days Of” for social media campaigns
- This year’s important holiday and festivity days
Outdoor and sporting goods trade shows this year
What are the biggest trade shows this year? From the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show in January all the way through to ISPO Munich at the end of November, we’ve listed some of the most important outdoor trade shows and sporting goods trade shows in 2023. Did we forget any? Then let us know.
- Jan. 10-12, Outdoor Retailer Snow Show (Salt Lake City, US)
- Jan. 10-13, Pitti Uomo, the world’s largest menswear and men’s accessories fair (Italy)
- Jan. 11-12, ProWinter B2B event (Bolzano, Italy)
- Jan. 14-17, EXPO Riva Schuh Volume Footwear industry trade show (Italy)
- Feb. 7-9, Première Vision Paris, for creative and eco-responsible fashion professionals
- Feb. 10-12, ISPO Beijing
- Feb. 14-16, Interstyle trade show of action sports and the outdoor industry in Japan (Yokohama, Japan)
- March 10-19, SXSW (South by Southwest) film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences (Austin, Texas, US)
- March 14-16, Moonova business performance platform for trade & marketing. The 2023 theme is marketing and commerce: “What’s next?”
- March 18-19, National Outdoor Expo (Birmingham, UK)
- April 13-16, FIBO trade show for fitness, wellness and health (Cologne, Germany)
- June 4-6, OutDoor by ISPO (Munich, Germany)
- June 5-7, re:publica festival for the digital society (Berlin, Germany)
- June 8-11, The Big Gear Show (Denver, US), as well as the (e)revolution national e-bike trade show
- June 13-15, Outdoor Trade Show (Liverpool, UK)
- June 13-14, CMCX content marketing and event platform (Cologne, Germany)
- June 14-17, Global Sports Week Paris
- June 15-16, 15 Seconds Festival future conference (Graz, Switzerland)
- June 19-21 Outdoor Retailer Summer (Salt Lake City, US)
- June 21-25, Eurobike trade fair (Frankfurt, Germany)
- July 4-6, Première Vision Paris
- Oct. 14-15, National Snow Show (Birmingham, UK)
- Oct. 21-22, London Snow Show
- Nov. 28-30, ISPO Munich
Have your doubts about the benefits of trade shows in a post-Covid climate? Our interview with Luca Palermo, chief executive of Fiera Milano, which manages the Rho exhibition hall as well as exhibition pavilions in Milan and the Allianz MiCo convention center, explains why the traditional trade show format is still important.
This year’s fabric trade shows for the outdoor and sporting goods industry
Here are some of the top fabric trade shows for all those in the outdoor and sporting goods industry who want to keep up with the latest developments in technical fabrics. If we’ve missed any out, do let us know.
- March 15-16, Performance Days functional fabric fair (Munich, Germany)
- April 23-26, Texprocess (Frankfurt, Germany)
- June 5–6, Circular Textile Days (‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands)
- July 3-5, Texworld Evolution Paris, including Texworld, Texworld Denim, Apparel Sourcing, Avantex and Leatherworld
- July 3–6, The 92nd Textile Institute World Conference (TIWC), Huddersfield, UK
- July 18-19, Functional Fabric Fair New York
- July 18-20, Munich Fabric Start
- Oct. 4-5, Performance Days functional fabric fair (Munich, Germany)
- Oct. 15–17, Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show (TITAS)
Eyewear trade shows this year
We’ve gathered together some of the most important dates in the eyewear industry calendar. Are there more we should know about?
- Jan. 13-15, Opti (Munich, Germany)
- Feb. 4-6, MIDO eyewear show (Milan, Italy)
- Feb. 25-27, 100% Optical (London, UK)
- March 16–19, Vision Expo East (New York, US)
- Sept. 29-Oct. 2, Silmo Paris eyewear and optics trade fair
- Nov. 8-10, Hong Kong International Optical Fair
The biggest sporting events this year
Knowing the biggest sporting events of the year can be a great way to tie in your sporting goods product with what’s happening in the sporting world. Use these dates to help build a social media campaign or share the excitement on LinkedIn. Think something is missing? Let us know.
- Jan. 11-29 - World Men’s Handball Championship
- Jan. 16–29,Australian Open
- Jan. 27-29, Winter X Games
- Feb. 6-19, Alpine World Ski Championships
- Feb. 12, Super Bowl Sunday
- April 17, Boston Marathon
- April 23, London Marathon
- May 5-17, Southeast Asian Games
- May 12-28, Ice Hockey World Championship
- May 28-June 11, French Open
- June 10, UEFA Champions League Final
- June 17–25, Special Olympics World Games
- June 21-July 2, European Games
- July 1-23, Tour de France
- July 3-16, Wimbledon
- July 20-24, Summer X Games
- July 20-Aug. 20, FIFA Women’s World Cup
- Aug 3-13, UCI Cycling World Championships
- Aug. 4-19, African Games
- Aug. 19-27, World Athletics Championships
- Aug. 25-Sep. 10, Basketball Worldcup
- Aug. 28-Sep. 10, US Open
- Sept. 8-Oct. 28, Rugby Union World Cup
- Sept. 23-Oct. 8, Asian Games
- Sept. 29-Oct. 1, Ryder Cup
- Oct.- Nov. 26, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup
- Oct. 25-Nov. 5, Pan American Games
- Nov. 30-Dec. 17, World Women’s Handball Championship
Environmental-themed “world days of”
Consumers in the sporting goods and outdoor industry world tend to care about the environment, whether that’s in the brands and fabrics they choose or choosing to repair instead of replace. Recent data from Deloitte showed 69 percent of Gen Z expect actors in the sports world to do more for the environment. Use these dates to show how your brand is aligned with the sustainability concerns of consumers by making use of the huge number of “International Days of” and “World Days of” connected to the environment.
- Jan. 15, World Snow Day
- March 3, World Wildlife Day
- March 18, Global Recycling Day
- March 21, International Day of Forests
- March 22, World Water Day
- April 22, Earth Day. The 2023 theme is “Invest in Our Planet.”
- May 13, World Fairtrade Day
- May 22, World Bee Day
- July 1- 31, Plastic Free July
- June 5, World Environment Day
- June 8, World Oceans Day
- Sept. 16, International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
- Nov. 24, Green Friday, the sustainable alternative to Black Friday
- Dec. 11, International Mountain Day
If you need convincing of the importance of this topic for consumers, in the ISPO Consumer Insights Report presentation 2022, a climate-friendly brand was shown to be the most important ground for switching brands, with 38.19 percent of consumers agreeing.
Notable and fun days related to sports and the outdoors this year
World Days can also be used to focus on a particular sport. Here are some of our favorite suggestions. Did we miss your sport?
- Feb. 10, Winter Bike to Work Day
- April 4, International Day of Sport For Development and Peace
- April 7, World Health Day
- May 11, Foam Rolling Day
- May 19, Bike to Work Day (3rd Friday in May)
- June 3, World Bicycle Day
- June 7, Global Running Day
- June 21, International Day of Yoga
- Sept. 20, International Day of University Sport
International ”world days of” for your CSR campaign - inclusion and equality themed
Don’t forget the “R” in CSR. How can sports brands and the outdoor industry show their commitment to diversity and equality? This list of “World Days of” and Awareness Months may be a great vehicle for brands to share some of their CSR values.
- Feb. 1-28, Black History Month. The 2023 theme is “Black Resistance”
- Feb. 11, International Day of Women and Girls in Science
- March 1-31, Disability Awareness Month
- March 8, International Women’s Day
- May 1-31, Mental Health Awareness Month
- June 1-30, LGBT Pride Month
- July 1-31, Disability Pride Month
- Oct. 1-31, LGBT History Month
- Oct. 10, World Mental Health Day
- Nov. 19 International Men’s Day
Fun and unusual “Days Of” for social media campaigns
For some light-hearted social media campaigns to link to your product and brand, these funny and unusual “World days” and “International Days” of should inspire you.
- Jan. 21, International Day of Sweatpants
- March 1, World Compliment Day, Zero Discrimination Day
- March 17, World Sleep Day
- March 20, International Day of Happiness, World Storytelling Day
- April 1, April Fool’s Day
- July 7, World Chocolate Day
- July 12, National Simplicity Day (US)
- July 17, World Emoji Day
- July 26, All or Nothing Day (US)
- July 30, International Day of Friendship
- Aug. 4, International Beer Day
- Aug. 10, National Lazy Day (US)
- Aug. 26, International Dog Day
- Sept. 27, World Tourism Day
- Oct. National Book Month
- Nov. 27, Cyber Monday
Black Diamond is a great example of how to use April Fool’s Day for a campaign. Every year they release a spoof product, and every year someone wishes it was true: From heated chalk bags to the ginormous 21 Camalot and the free solo airbag pack.
This year’s important holiday and festivity days
And, of course, let’s not forget some of the important and biggest global holidays and festivities of the year.
- Jan. 22, Lunar New Year
- Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day
- March 23 - April 22, Ramadan
- April 21, Eid al-Fitr
- Sept. 28-30, Chuseok (South Korea)
- Oct. 31, Halloween
- Nov. 12, Diwali
- Dec. 7-15, Hanukkah
- Dec. 25, Christmas
- Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve
At ISPO Munich 2022, Petra Balzer, principal of digital strategy and marketing at RPC (The Retail Performance Company), noted in her presentation that an overwhelming 71 percent of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions. Choosing the most relevant holiday dates for your customers and sending a personalized response could be a productive strategy and help with retention.
