If you exhibit at a Dubai trade show run by Informa, there is a line in your exhibitor manual you may not have read closely. It refers to Better Stands, and it is changing what a compliant exhibition stand looks like.
Better Stands is Informa Markets’ programme for moving exhibitors away from single-use builds and towards reusable structures. It grades stands Bronze, Silver or Gold, and compliance is checked from the moment you submit your stand plan through to on-site review at the venue. At some shows it is already stated as a minimum requirement rather than a suggestion.
This matters in the UAE because Informa runs a significant share of the region’s exhibition calendar. If your show is one of them, Better Stands affects how your stand is specified, who builds it, and what happens to it afterwards.
Here is what the programme actually asks for, and what it means in practice for an exhibitor planning a stand in Dubai.
What Better Stands Is
Better Stands is an initiative to eliminate disposable, single-use exhibition stands in favour of reusable or recyclable structures. It applies to exhibitors and to the contractors they appoint.
The logic is straightforward. A traditional custom stand is built from timber and board, assembled in the hall, and skipped at the end of the show. A reusable stand is engineered to come apart, go into storage, and be rebuilt at the next show.
What makes it significant is that it is not a voluntary badge sitting beside the stand regulations. Informa has stated it will become part of the stand build regulations, monitored from stand plan submission through to on-site review and verification.
Individual Informa events publish their own Better Stands page, and the wording is consistent — Cityscape describes it as a commitment to building reusable or recyclable structures. Some shows have gone further. MRO Middle East, held in Dubai, states that Bronze is the minimum standard for all raw space stands going forward.
The Three Tiers, and What Each One Requires
Better Stands works on three ascending levels. Each tier includes everything in the tier below it, so Gold is Bronze plus Silver plus its own additional requirements.
The criteria below come from Informa’s own published Better Stands material. Individual shows can apply the programme differently and update the detail, so always confirm against the exhibitor manual for your specific event.
Bronze
The entry level, and the one most often set as a minimum. Bronze focuses on the elements that are easiest to make reusable:
- Reusable wall-mounted elements
- Reusable floor-standing elements
- Reusable stand graphics
- Recyclable plants, flowers and mannequins
- Reusable flooring — carpet, floor tiles or lino
For most exhibitors, the interesting item in that list is graphics. Printed vinyl applied directly to a panel is consumed when the panel comes down. A tensioned fabric graphic in a frame is not — it comes out, folds flat and goes back in the case. That single change moves a lot of stands closer to Bronze on its own.
Silver
Silver adds the overhead and display elements, on top of everything required for Bronze:
- Recyclable fascia, logo signage and hanging banners
- Reusable overhead rigging structures
- Reusable ceiling materials
- Reusable display units
This is where modular systems start to earn their place. Rigging, ceiling grids and display cases built from a modular frame come apart and reconfigure. The same components built as bespoke joinery usually do not.
Gold
Gold covers the structure itself, in addition to all Bronze and Silver requirements:
- Reusable stand structure and walling
- Reusable flooring and raised platforms, excluding surface-covering carpet
- Reusable furnishings
- Reusable AV equipment
- Reusable lighting
A Gold stand is, in practice, a system-built stand. Nothing structural is made to be thrown away.
What This Changes for a Dubai Exhibitor
Your system choice matters more than it used to
Modular aluminium systems were already the sensible option for anyone exhibiting more than once a year. Under Better Stands they also become the straightforward route to compliance, because reusability is designed into the components.
Both Octanorm and Maxima are built around aluminium profiles that dismantle, store and reconfigure. Infill panels swap. Frames extend. A stand built on one of these systems can be rebuilt at a different size for the next show rather than skipped.
This does not rule out a custom stand. It means the custom elements need to come apart and be stored, rather than being built in place and demolished.
Graphics become a specification decision, not an afterthought
Reusable graphics are a Bronze requirement, and this is the easiest early win for most exhibitors.
Tension fabric graphics are dye-sublimation printed, silicone-edged and stretched into a frame. They come out without damage, fold flat, and go back in at the next show. Self-adhesive vinyl applied to a panel does not survive removal. The cost comparison is set out in our guide to fabric versus vinyl printing, and the short version is that fabric costs more up front and reuses far better.
If you exhibit two or three times a year, a reusable graphic set usually pays for itself before the compliance argument even enters the conversation. Both options are produced in-house by our large format print team.
Storage becomes part of the brief
A reusable stand only stays reusable if someone looks after it between shows. That means warehousing, inspection, repacking and refurbishment — and it is worth agreeing who does that at design stage rather than discovering the problem at breakdown.
It also changes the shape of the quote. A single-use build is one number. A reusable build is a higher first cost spread across several shows, plus a storage line. Over a two or three year programme the reusable route is frequently cheaper — but only if the comparison is made across the programme rather than one event.
Your contractor needs to understand the programme
Better Stands applies to the contractor as much as the exhibitor, because the contractor is the one specifying materials and submitting the drawings.
When you brief a builder, ask directly how they would reach the tier your show requires, what in their proposal is reusable and what is not, and what happens to the stand after the show. A contractor who builds modular and stores client systems will have an answer. One who subcontracts the build and skips it afterwards will not.
Our guide to briefing an exhibition stand builder covers what else belongs in that first conversation.
How to Approach It Practically
1. Find out whether your show applies it, and at what level
Not every Dubai show is an Informa event, and those that are may apply Better Stands differently. Your exhibitor manual is the authority. If the wording is unclear, Informa publishes a contact address for the programme at betterstands@informa.com.
2. Decide whether you are solving for one show or a programme
If this is a one-off outing, Bronze through reusable graphics and flooring is a sensible target. If you exhibit several times a year, it is worth looking at Silver or Gold, because the economics of a reusable structure improve every time you redeploy it.
3. Get the tier into the brief before design starts
Retrofitting reusability into a finished design is awkward and usually expensive. Stating the target tier at briefing lets the designer specify for it from the first sketch.
4. Build the storage conversation into the contract
Agree who stores the stand, what condition it comes back in, what refurbishment costs between shows, and who is responsible if a component is damaged in transit.
5. Allow for the approval process either way
Better Stands compliance is checked at stand plan submission, which runs alongside the usual technical approval for drawings, structural calculations and materials. It is an additional layer of review rather than a replacement. Our guide to exhibition regulations and permits in Dubai covers the approval chain, and how long an exhibition stand takes to build sets out where the time goes.
The Honest Case for Doing This Anyway
It would be easy to treat Better Stands as paperwork. That misses what is actually useful about it.
Informa lists reduced build costs, less build and breakdown time, fewer labour hours and a lower waste bill among the benefits of moving to reusable stands. Those are operational arguments, not environmental ones, and they hold whether or not your show requires compliance.
There is also a procurement angle. More organisations now report on waste and sustainability, and a stand that gets rebuilt rather than skipped is a cleaner line in that report. If your marketing budget answers to a sustainability policy, a reusable stand is easier to defend.
And the structural point stands on its own merits: a stand engineered to come apart is a stand you still own after the show.
Planning a Better Stands Compliant Build in Dubai?
We design and build modular and custom exhibition stands from our own Dubai workshop, with storage, refurbishment and reconfiguration between shows. If your exhibitor manual states a Better Stands tier, send us the show, your stand size and the manual — we will tell you what the tier requires in practice and what it means for the build before anything gets drawn.
Talk to our team, or see our exhibition stand builders in Dubai service for what we build and how. If you are still choosing a show, our Dubai trade show calendar sets out what is coming up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Better Stands programme?
Better Stands is an Informa Markets initiative to move exhibitors away from disposable, single-use exhibition stands towards reusable or recyclable structures. Stands are graded Bronze, Silver or Gold, and compliance is checked from stand plan submission through to on-site review at the venue.
Does Better Stands apply to Dubai trade shows?
It applies to shows run by Informa Markets, which includes a number of events held in Dubai. MRO Middle East in Dubai, for example, states that Bronze is the minimum for all raw space stands. Check your exhibitor manual, since application and timing can vary between shows.
What is the difference between Bronze, Silver and Gold?
Each tier includes the one below it. Bronze covers reusable wall-mounted and floor-standing elements, reusable graphics, recyclable plants and mannequins, and reusable flooring. Silver adds recyclable fascia, signage and hanging banners plus reusable rigging, ceiling materials and display units. Gold adds the reusable structure and walling, raised platforms, furnishings, AV and lighting.
Is Better Stands compulsory?
It varies by show. Informa has stated the programme will become part of the stand build regulations, and some events already set Bronze as a minimum for raw space stands. Your exhibitor manual is the authority for your specific event.
Does a Better Stands compliant stand cost more?
The first build usually costs more than a single-use equivalent, because the structure is engineered to be dismantled and stored rather than demolished. Across a programme of several shows the reusable route is often cheaper, since the same components are redeployed. Informa also cites reduced build time, fewer labour hours and lower waste costs among the benefits.
Do modular systems like Octanorm and Maxima meet the requirements?
Modular aluminium systems are designed around reusability, which makes them a practical route to the higher tiers. The system alone does not guarantee a grade, though — graphics, flooring, furniture, AV and lighting are all assessed separately, so the whole specification has to be considered.
What is the easiest first step towards compliance?
Graphics. Switching from vinyl applied directly to panels to tensioned fabric in a frame makes the graphics reusable and moves a stand meaningfully towards Bronze without redesigning the structure.
Who is responsible for compliance, the exhibitor or the contractor?
Both. The programme applies to exhibitors and their appointed contractors, and the contractor submits the stand plans that are reviewed. In practice it works best when the target tier is agreed at briefing, so the contractor specifies for it from the start.