18,642 participants in all, and 7,604 delegates from 111 countries. Those are the two headline figures in the IAC 2026 results, published by the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) three days after the end in its wrap-up release. The 77th International Astronautical Congress ran from 5 to 9 October in Antalya, and Türkiye had never staged it before.
We had four clients there. Below are the figures as released, what was adopted and agreed during the week, and the dates for Poznan 2027, Samarkand 2028 and Geneva 2029. We keep to published sources, and we say so where a figure is missing.
IAC 2026 Results in Figures
Every figure in this table comes from that release. The IAF has not published a post-show summary of its own yet, so treat TUA's figures as the reference. Early news stories came out before the release, so minor differences between those stories and this table are expected.
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Participants, all categories | 18,642 |
| Delegates | 7,604 from 111 countries |
| Public Day visitors | More than 11,000 |
| Abstract submissions | 8,330 from 108 countries (a record) |
| Astronauts attending | More than 40 |
| New member organisations admitted during the week | 51 |
| Member organisations afterwards | More than 621 in 84 countries |
The two headline counts are given separately in the release, one for delegates and one for all participants. We quote them the same way, and we do not add them together or divide one by the other. The 111 behind the delegate count and the 108 behind the abstracts are also two different tallies, one of people who came and one of papers sent in.
Two figures are missing on purpose. There is no published figure for the size of the show and there is no economic impact figure, because nobody has released one. We do not estimate what nobody has measured.
A Record Abstract Count, Led by the Host Country
The call for papers received 8,330 abstract submissions from 108 countries, a record for the event. The host country alone submitted 1,810 abstracts, the most ever from a single country, and it took the top spot overall with 674 accepted abstracts. Both figures are in the same release.
Agreements, a Declaration and a Public Day
The political part of the week came a day early. On 4 October, the 16th Ministers and Parliamentarians Meeting adopted the Antalya Declaration for Peace in Space. According to TUA, 32 ministers, parliamentarians and officials from 21 countries backed it.
Three agreements were concluded during the week:
- a letter of intent with the UK Space Agency
- a protocol between TURKSAT and China Satcom
- a framework agreement with the agencies of the Organization of Turkic States
A new zone called "Future Space" made its debut this year, and more than 40 astronauts attended. The release gives no exact count beyond that "more than 40".
The week ended with Public Day. More than 11,000 visitors came in for it, and Anadolu Agency (AA) reported an autograph session with astronauts for those visitors.
The IAF, the organiser, grew as well. Its president, Gabriella Arrigo, announced 51 new member organisations, taking membership past 621. The release notes that announcement too.
The Commercial Side in One Figure
Arrigo, quoted by Türkiye Today on the last day, put the commercial side at 250 exhibiting companies and partner exhibitors plus six sponsors. That figure comes from a speech at the end rather than a published count, so we treat it as a round figure. The Final Programme names country groups with their own blocks, including Korea, the UAE, Switzerland, Germany, India and Spain, plus the host. That is as far as the published sources go, and we stop where they stop.
We worked for four clients there. We will not name them here. Our people came back calling it a very successful show, and that is the whole of our own account. Four is a modest share of 250, and we are fine with that.
Poznan 2027, Samarkand 2028, Geneva 2029
The next one has a date. According to the IAF's own site, the 2027 IAC is scheduled for 27 September to 1 October 2027 in Poznan, Poland, and a Poznan section is already online. After Poland comes Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on 9 to 13 October 2028.
Türkiye Today writes that Poland formalised the 2027 agreement at the end of the week, that Poznan will run under the motto "One Space, Shared Future", and that Geneva won the vote for 2029 against Houston and Barcelona. So 2029 goes to Switzerland.
We have no documents from the 2027 organisers yet, and we will not guess at them. What we do know is the timing: this year is done, and Poznan begins less than twelve months later. That leaves one winter and one summer for the concept, the carpentry and the road.
If you want the background on how it was prepared beforehand, our pre-show post is still online. Read it as a snapshot of what we expected, not of what happened.
Your Next Step Toward Poznan
Begin with the facts, not with the order. If you are thinking about Poznan for 2027, tell us your expected size, what you will show and a rough cost range through our stand design form. We will reply with a draft proposal, and we can do that before the 2027 organisers publish theirs. Three facts are enough to begin: the size, the headcount on duty and whether visitors will sit down with you or pass by. If you showed this year, tell us what worked and what did not, because the Poznan concept grows from that answer. If you prefer to write to us directly, use our contact form.
Poznan begins on 27 September 2027. Work that was settled in spring is much calmer work by the time the doors open.
