Most “top creator events” lists are out of date by the time you read them. Half the events have already happened and the other half don’t list 2026 dates. This is the working calendar for the rest of 2026. We last checked every upcoming date on the organizer’s own site on October 14, 2026.
Five major creator economy events are still ahead in 2026 as of October 14: PI LIVE Europe (October 19-21, London), Creator Marketing Summit NYC (October 29), TwitchCon San Diego (November 13-15), Digital Marketing World Forum Europe (November 24-25, Amsterdam) and Affiliate World Asia (December 9-10, Bangkok). For Instagram creators who want brand deals, PI LIVE Europe and Creator Marketing Summit NYC are the two to shortlist, because both are built around creator and brand partnerships.
Goldman Sachs Research projected the creator economy would approach $480 billion by 2027, roughly double its size at the time of that forecast (Goldman Sachs Research, 2023), and 62% of marketers say they are raising influencer budgets in 2026 (Linqia 2026 State of Influencer Marketing). The events below are where that money gets spent and where the partnerships get made.
If you’re an Instagram creator deciding where to spend travel budget, scroll to the “highest-signal picks” below the calendar. If you’re a brand or agency, the October events in London and New York will move more pipeline than the big fan festivals.
Key Takeaways
Still ahead as of October 14, 2026:
Best affiliate-creator overlap: PI LIVE Europe, October 19-21 (London) Best curated US brand room: Creator Marketing Summit NYC, October 29 Biggest fan-facing festival left: TwitchCon San Diego, November 13-15 Best EU brand-side event: Digital Marketing World Forum Europe, November 24-25 (Amsterdam) Best Asia-Pacific option: Affiliate World Asia, December 9-10 (Bangkok)
Every event on this list from July 8 to October 13 has now taken place. Those events are kept further down because almost all of them run every year at roughly the same date, so they are the shortlist for your 2027 travel budget.
How This List Was Built
Every event below was verified on the official organizer site. The dates of the five events still ahead were re-checked on October 14, 2026. Events that happened before July (VidCon Anaheim, Creator Live London, Cannes Lions, SXSW, Shorty Awards, Affiliate Summit West, SMW NYC, POSSIBLE Miami, 1 Billion Followers Dubai) are excluded. Events without confirmed 2026 dates on their official site are marked TBC or skipped.
If you find a date that has shifted, check the source URL listed for each event.
October 2026
PI LIVE Europe (Festival of Partnerships), October 19-21
- Location: Old Billingsgate and The Steel Yard, London
- Audience: Affiliates, creators, brands, networks
- Price: Approximately £500-£1,500
- Source: performancein.live/europe (dates checked October 2026)
The festival pass includes the Influencer & Commerce Summit, a full-day program on running creators as a sales channel. The organizer lists 2,500+ attendees. This is where affiliate and creator economies overlap most cleanly in Europe.
Creator Marketing Summit NYC (#paid), October 29
- Location: Hall des Lumières, NYC
- Audience: Creators, brands, marketers
- Source: hashtagpaid.com/creator-marketing-summit (dates checked October 2026)
Tight one-day summit hosted by the #paid network. Focus areas are creator-first strategy, social commerce, and measurement. Smaller and more curated than the larger conferences, which is the point.
November 2026
TwitchCon San Diego, November 13-15
- Location: San Diego Convention Center
- Audience: Streamers, creators, brands
- Price: Approximately $200-$600
- Source: twitchcon.com/san-diego-2026 (dates checked October 2026)
Live streaming focus, but heavy crossover with Instagram creators who run Live audiences or repurpose stream clips into Reels. The brand pavilion is increasingly multi-platform.
DMWF Europe Amsterdam, November 24-25
- Location: RAI Amsterdam
- Audience: Senior marketers, CMOs
- Price: Approximately €800-€1,500
- Source: digitalmarketing-conference.com/europe (dates checked October 2026)
Influencer marketing and content marketing tracks within a broader digital marketing event. The organizer expects 2,500+ CMOs, marketing directors and senior leaders.
December 2026
Affiliate World Asia, December 9-10
- Location: Bangkok, Thailand
- Audience: Affiliates, ecommerce operators, creators
- Price: Approximately $1,500-$2,500
- Source: affiliateworldconferences.com/asia (dates checked October 2026)
The APAC affiliate hub. Strong overlap with Instagram and TikTok creators running organic plus paid campaigns. Worth the flight if your audience or ad spend leans into Asia-Pacific.
Highest-Signal Picks for Instagram Creators
The five creator events left in 2026 compare like this. Ticket ranges are approximate, taken from organizer sites in May 2026, and do not include travel.
| Event | Dates (2026) | City | Ticket range | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PI LIVE Europe | October 19-21 | London | About £500-£1,500 | Affiliate and creator-commerce deals |
| Creator Marketing Summit NYC | October 29 | New York | See organizer site | Curated creator-brand meetings |
| TwitchCon San Diego | November 13-15 | San Diego | About $200-$600 | Creators who go Live or cut streams into Reels |
| DMWF Europe | November 24-25 | Amsterdam | About €800-€1,500 | EU brand-side marketers |
| Affiliate World Asia | December 9-10 | Bangkok | About $1,500-$2,500 | Affiliate and ecommerce creators in APAC |
If you have to pick three:
- PI LIVE Europe (October 19-21, London). Where the affiliate and creator economies overlap most cleanly, with the Influencer & Commerce Summit included in the festival pass.
- Creator Marketing Summit NYC (October 29). One day, one room of creators, brands and marketers, focused on creator-first strategy and social commerce.
- TwitchCon San Diego (November 13-15). The biggest fan-facing creator festival left this year, and the lowest ticket range on this list.
A quick rule: if you earn from affiliate links, pick PI LIVE Europe or Affiliate World Asia. If you want US brand deals, pick Creator Marketing Summit NYC. If you go Live on Instagram, pick TwitchCon.
If you’re brand-side instead of creator-side, lead with PI LIVE Europe (October 19-21, London) for partnerships, Creator Marketing Summit NYC (October 29) for a smaller curated US room, and DMWF Europe (November 24-25, Amsterdam) for the EU brand-side view.
Creator Events That Already Took Place in 2026
Every event in this section was scheduled between July 8 and October 13, 2026. Each one is an annual fixture, so treat this section as the 2027 planning shortlist rather than a booking list.
ANA Digital & Social Media Conference, July 8-10
- Location: JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, California
- Audience: Brand-side social, digital, and influencer marketers
- Source: ana.net (accessed July 2026)
The Association of National Advertisers runs this for senior brand marketers working across social, AI, and influencer. Presented by OUTFRONT Media, it skews enterprise brand-side rather than creator-side, so it’s worth the trip if you sell into large marketing teams or want to hear how national brands plan their creator spend.
Affiliate World Europe, July 9-10
- Location: Budapest, Hungary
- Audience: Affiliate marketers, performance creators, DTC operators
- Price: Approximately $1,000-$2,000
- Source: affiliateworldconferences.com/europe (accessed May 2026)
High-signal for Instagram creators monetizing through affiliate programs or CPA networks. Heavy DTC ecommerce and paid social overlap means you’ll hear how the people running million-dollar campaigns think about creators.
Not a creator event in the cultural sense. It’s a performance marketing event where creators happen to be one of the channels.
CreatorFest Europe, July 14-15
- Location: Magazine London, UK
- Audience: Brands, agencies, creators
- Source: creatorfest.com (accessed May 2026)
Europe’s largest creator economy event, rebranded from the Influencer Marketing Show. CreatorFest Awards run the evening of July 14. Around 1,500 delegates expected.
If you work brand-side in Europe, this is the one to put in the 2027 calendar first.
Open Sauce, July 17-19
- Location: San Mateo County Event Center, San Francisco Bay Area
- Audience: Creators, makers, fans, tech builders
- Price: General Admission around $120-$217
- Source: opensauce.com (accessed July 2026)
It was the largest general creator festival of the summer after VidCon. It’s a fan-and-maker event more than a brand-deal event, so the value is meeting other creators and collaborators rather than booking partnerships. Strong for Instagram creators in tech, science, DIY, and gaming niches.
Affiliate Summit East, July 27-28
- Location: New York Marriott Marquis, NYC
- Audience: Affiliate marketers, networks, retailers, creators
- Price: $300-$1,200
- Source: affiliatesummit.com (accessed May 2026)
The US counterpart to Affiliate World. Lots of formal and informal creator-brand matchmaking. Pair this with the next event since both are at the same hotel.
Creator Economy Live East, July 29
- Location: New York Marriott Marquis, NYC
- Audience: Brands, agencies, creators
- Price: Free for the first 500 brand attendees
- Source: creatoreconomylive.com/east (accessed May 2026)
Stacked directly after Affiliate Summit East at the same venue. Brand roster on the official page includes Estée Lauder, Disney, e.l.f., Lululemon, and Fenty. If you’re an Instagram creator looking for partnership conversations, the free pricing for brands means the room will be dense with the people writing checks.
State of Social ‘26, August 25-26
- Location: Optus Stadium, Perth, Western Australia
- Audience: Social media and digital marketers, creators
- Price: From around $695 AUD, in-person and digital passes
- Source: stateofsocial.com.au (accessed July 2026)
The main social and digital marketing conference in Australia, and the one high-signal option in the Asia-Pacific region before the December affiliate events. Practical, social-first sessions with a mix of brand, agency, and creator attendees.
Streamy Awards (14th edition), August 27 (TBC)
- Location: Los Angeles
- Audience: Creators, agencies, press
- Source: streamys.org
The major US creator awards across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Third-party calendars listed August 27, but the official site had not confirmed a date when we checked in July 2026. Check streamys.org for the 2027 edition.
Global Influencer Marketing Awards (GIMA), September 3
- Location: The Londoner Hotel, London
- Audience: Brands, agencies, creators
- Source: influencermarketingawards.com (accessed May 2026)
The 8th edition of the most credible influencer marketing awards in EMEA. Table-based ticketing, so it’s an agency and brand crowd more than a solo-creator crowd.
IAB CreatorFronts, September 15
- Location: Convene 360 Madison Avenue, New York
- Audience: Media buyers, agencies, consumer brands
- Source: iab.com (accessed July 2026)
The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s creator-focused marketplace day, part of a unified September 15-17 run in NYC. It’s where platforms and top creators pitch media buyers, so it’s a brand-and-buyer room rather than a solo-creator room. Registration required.
HubSpot UNBOUND, September 16-18
- Location: Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Massachusetts
- Audience: Marketers, go-to-market teams, agencies, creators
- Source: unbound.hubspot.com (accessed July 2026)
Formerly INBOUND, rebranded to UNBOUND for 2026 with a heavier AI and go-to-market focus. It’s a broad marketing conference rather than a creator event, but the creator-marketing and content tracks pull a large brand-side crowd. Worth it if you want the marketing-operations view of how creators fit into the funnel.
IMCX 2026, September 22-24
- Location: Los Angeles
- Audience: Marketers, creators, platforms
- Price: $497 standard, $697 VIP, free for the first 100 creators
- Source: influencermarketingexpo.com (accessed May 2026)
Single-stage event focused on AI in creator marketing, measurement, and partnership operations. Expected attendance around 500. If the free Creator Pass for the first 100 creators returns in 2027, register early.
VidSummit, September 29 to October 1
- Location: Dallas, Texas
- Audience: Video creators
- Price: Approximately $1,000-$2,500
- Source: vidsummit.com (accessed May 2026)
YouTube-led but with strong short-form and Instagram Reels content. Tactical growth and monetization talks from top operators. Worth it if you’re running video as your primary content format.
CreatorIQ Connect, October 13
- Location: Ebell of Los Angeles
- Audience: Enterprise brand and agency leaders
- Source: events.creatoriq.com (accessed May 2026)
Around 1,000 senior marketing executives. Not a creator event. It is a brand-side event about creator marketing. Worth it if you sell into Fortune 500 marketing teams or want to understand how enterprise brands think about creator partnerships.
What Got Skipped
- MozCon (July 13, NYC): An SEO and content marketing conference rather than a creator event, so it’s outside this list’s scope.
- Forbes Creator Upfronts 2026: We found no 2026 date when we searched in October 2026. The 2025 edition ran October 28-29.
- CEX (Content Entrepreneur Expo): The organizer ended the annual in-person event. No 2026 edition.
- Influence This, Influencer World Summit: No verified 2026 event found under either exact name.
- Events before July: The July to October events have their own section above. Earlier in 2026: VidCon Anaheim (June 25-27), Creator Live London (June 27), Shorty Awards (May 19), Affiliate Summit West (January), SXSW, Cannes Lions, SMW NYC (April), Brand Innovators Creator Economy Summit (April 23), POSSIBLE Miami (April), 1 Billion Followers Dubai (January).
How to Make Conferences Pay For Themselves
The cost of an event is rarely the ticket. It’s the travel, the hotel, and the three days off content. The creators who get ROI from these events usually do three things:
- Pre-book meetings. Don’t show up hoping to bump into people. Use LinkedIn and Instagram DMs two weeks out to book 30-minute coffee slots. If you’re an Instagram creator, setting up DM automation before the event means you don’t lose inbound during the trip. CreatorFlow, for example, sends your link in a DM when someone comments a keyword on your post or replies to your story, so new leads get an answer while you are on the floor.
- Bring one offer. A media kit, a partnership rate card, a digital product. Conversations convert better when there’s something to send afterward. Our free Instagram media kit generator builds one from your account stats in a few minutes.
- Document while you attend. Reels and carousels shot on the floor give you footage nobody else in your niche has that week. Plan three pieces of content per day, not one.
If you’re not sure you’re ready to invest in conference travel yet, the lower-cost path is online communities. We’ve reviewed the best creator communities for paid networking that doesn’t require a flight.
For full-year planning, see our 30-day creator launch roadmap and the build your creator brand on Instagram guide.
FAQ
What creator economy events are left in 2026?
The creator economy events left in 2026, as of October 14, are PI LIVE Europe in London (October 19-21), Creator Marketing Summit NYC (October 29), TwitchCon San Diego (November 13-15), DMWF Europe in Amsterdam (November 24-25) and Affiliate World Asia in Bangkok (December 9-10). VidCon Anaheim, CreatorFest Europe, IMCX, VidSummit and CreatorIQ Connect have all taken place this year.
What is the cheapest creator conference left in 2026 for a solo Instagram creator?
TwitchCon San Diego (November 13-15) has the lowest ticket range of the events left in 2026, with passes from roughly $200 when we checked in May 2026. The #paid summit in New York does not show a price on its event page. Most other events still ahead cost several hundred dollars or more before travel. If a flight does not fit your budget, a paid online creator community is the lower-cost way to meet other creators and brands.
Can I go to a creator conference for free in 2026?
The two free entries on this list have already taken place. IMCX gave a free Creator Pass to the first 100 creators for its September 22-24 event, and Creator Economy Live East was free for the first 500 brand attendees on July 29. For the events still ahead, check each registration page for pass types, and ask the organizer about press passes if you cover the creator economy.
What is the biggest creator festival left in 2026?
TwitchCon San Diego (November 13-15) is the largest fan-facing creator festival left in 2026, now that VidCon Anaheim, Open Sauce and VidSummit have run. For brand and affiliate deals rather than fans, PI LIVE Europe (October 19-21, London) lists 2,500+ attendees and 100+ speakers on its event page.
Which creator conference is best for getting brand deals?
PI LIVE Europe (October 19-21, London) and Creator Marketing Summit NYC (October 29) are the best rooms for brand deals in the rest of 2026. PI LIVE runs a full-day Influencer & Commerce Summit inside the festival. The #paid summit is a smaller, curated one-day event in New York. IAB CreatorFronts, Creator Economy Live East and CreatorFest Europe all ran earlier in the year.
Are there any creator events in Asia-Pacific left in 2026?
Affiliate World Asia (December 9-10, Bangkok) is the one major event left in the region in 2026, and it suits affiliate and ecommerce creators. State of Social ‘26 in Perth ran August 25-26. Outside those two, we found no confirmed major creator economy conference in Asia-Pacific for the rest of 2026.
The dates of the five events still ahead were re-checked on the official organizer sites on October 14, 2026, along with the PI LIVE Europe and DMWF Europe attendance figures. Locations, ticket ranges and the details of past events come from organizer sites checked between May and August 2026. Dates can shift, so check the linked source for each event before booking travel.
