The Gym Operator Conference 2026

The Gym Operator Conference 2026 runs from Wednesday 18 November to Thursday 19 November at Cranmore Park in Shirley, Birmingham. It's put on by Independent Gyms, and it brings together around 500 gym owners and personal trainers alongside more than 100 industry-leading brands. If you run a gym or work as a PT in the city, it's one of those days where you'll find a good chunk of your local peers in one room.

The 2026 edition changes the format a bit, splitting the programme across three focused stages: Sales, Marketing and Retention; Business and HR; and Gym Owner Stories. The first two cover the practical side of running the business — how you get people through the door and how you keep them coming back — while the third is for hearing how other owners have actually handled the day-to-day. Between them, they should cover most of the ground you're dealing with in your own gym.

There's also something new this year: a fully functioning show gym on-site. It'll run its own timetable of education sessions, and you can actually train during the event, so you don't have to completely write off your workout while you're there. The Movember Social is back too, and delegates get free barista coffee, the organiser's finest lunch, and a goodybag with real products to take home.

It runs from 9 am to 5.30 pm on both days, so it's a proper two-day commitment. Tickets range from £127.76 to £1284.11, and you can find them through Eventbrite. The venue is Cranmore Park, Cranmore Avenue, Shirley, B90 4LF, Solihull, Birmingham.