The Occupational Therapy Show (The OT Show) — 25–26 November 2026

We are focused on bringing together the occupational therapy (OT) community through a major healthcare conference and exhibition experience in the UK. The OT Show returns to NEC Birmingham on 25–26 November 2026, positioned as the UK’s leading healthcare event and a CPD accredited conference for occupational therapists.

1) Event overview (what it is and why it matters)

The OT Show combines a conference programme with an exhibition floor designed to help occupational therapists and associated healthcare professionals discover solutions, products, services, and innovations relevant to real clinical practice. It also supports learning and professional development through CPD sessions, keynotes, and exhibitor-led demonstrations.

The show’s core purpose is clear: bringing the occupational therapy community together. That community includes practicing OTs, educators and apprentices, clinical leads, advisers, and representatives from healthcare and allied organisations who support the OT profession.

2) Where the show is happening + venue details

Venue: NEC Birmingham
Location: Birmingham, United Kingdom
Dates: 25–26 November 2026

3) Who attends (buyers/attendees) — occupational therapy focused audience

The OT Show is designed for occupational therapy professionals and closely related stakeholders. It is described as a free national event tailored for occupational therapists, which signals a broad visitor base across different OT roles and experience levels.

Primary attendee groups we typically expect to see

• Practising occupational therapists looking for CPD, clinical learning, and evidence-informed solutions.
• Clinical leads and senior practitioners seeking service improvements, new interventions, and updated approaches.
• Occupational therapy apprentices and trainees using the programme to learn, network, and explore career pathways.
• Occupational therapy educators and training leads who want to connect learners with practical tools and industry capability.
• Professional bodies and sector leaders contributing to the conference themes and professional guidance.
• Healthcare suppliers and service providers demonstrating products and services aligned to OT practice.
• Allied stakeholders involved in delivering health and social care outcomes that intersect with OT goals (for example, community support and independence-focused services).

4) Audience reach (local / national / global)

The show is explicitly described as a free national event for occupational therapists. That indicates a primary reach across the UK nationally. While a UK flagship event may attract international interest, we can only reliably conclude the reach described on the official material: national.

In practical terms, attendees are likely to travel from across the UK to access a single-location combination of CPD sessions, specialist exhibitors, and networking opportunities. The “under one roof” approach makes it particularly attractive to clinicians and teams who need concentrated access to OT-relevant education and solutions.

5) Job profiles, professional roles & event type fit

Based on the show’s positioning as an occupational therapy CPD programme and healthcare expo, the most relevant attendee roles align with direct OT practice and OT leadership. The event format indicates it supports both clinical learning and professional discovery through exhibition demos.

Best-fit role types (to understand who this event serves)

• Occupational Therapist (including early-career and apprentice OTs)
• Senior Occupational Therapist
• Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist
• Clinical Advisor / professional adviser roles within OT services
• Service leaders involved in independence-focused care delivery (adult social care contexts are reflected in attendee testimonials)
• Education and training professionals aligned with OT training and CPD culture
• Exhibitor representatives demonstrating OT-relevant solutions and technologies during the show
• Conference speakers and professional contributors from recognised OT organisations

Event type

• Healthcare conference and expo
• CPD accredited educational programme
• Exhibition with supplier demos
• Networking event for OT community connection
• Innovation and showcase programming (as referenced by the presence of dedicated show programming sections on the official site, including showcases and theatres)

6) Estimated attendance / expected footfall

The provided official website content confirms the event details, CPD credentials, and key show attributes (including the scale of CPD sessions and supplier presence), but it does not include an explicit “expected total attendance” figure.

What we can reliably state from the official website content: the show highlights include 200+ suppliers under one roof and 100+ hours of CPD sessions, keynotes & exhibitor demos.

What we cannot reliably state from the supplied official text: a numeric estimate for total footfall or attendee count. If we are required to provide a footfall estimate for planning or segmentation, we will only do so after we receive the attendance figure from a trusted source (for example, event organiser reporting or official post-show summaries).

7) Key focus areas & how buyers/attendees engage

The show is structured around OT learning and solution discovery. Based on the official website messaging, the key value drivers are: CPD sessions, keynotes, exhibitor demos, networking, and broad supplier access.

Likely OT focus areas reflected by the show format

• CPD learning and professional development through accredited sessions and keynotes.
• Clinical practice relevance via practical exhibitor demonstrations and targeted content programmes.
• Patient independence and outcomes (supported by attendee testimonials referencing adult social care and independence-focused support).
• Product and service discovery where visitors can see how solutions “work” in context.
• Networking with like-minded OT professionals and connecting with leaders across the sector.
• Learning pathways for students and apprentices through an environment where trainees can both explore providers and attend sessions.

How we expect engagement to happen during the show

• Conference attendance: delegates attend CPD sessions and keynotes to update practice and knowledge.
• Exhibitor demo interactions: visitors engage with suppliers through demonstration-led discussions rather than passive viewing.
• Networking and peer exchange: attendees compare approaches and learn from similar roles across services.
• Show programming participation: participants join featured areas and theatre-style programming to explore innovations and education topics.

8) What this event signals for buyer/attendee research (practical takeaways)

We use event research to identify the right audience layers that attend healthcare conferences like The OT Show. Because the show is both educational (CPD accredited) and solution-led (200+ suppliers, exhibitor demos), the most valuable attendees for many OT-relevant organisations tend to be those who directly influence clinical practice, service decisions, or procurement-adjacent evaluation criteria within OT and related healthcare pathways.

If we are asked to segment audiences for outreach and targeting, we prioritise attendee roles that match the OT environment described on the official website: practising OTs, clinical leads, advisors, senior decision-makers in OT services, trainees and apprentices, and exhibitor-connected healthcare solution teams.

9) Client product fit check (what we need from the client to refine the “best buyer” view)

To determine the best-aligned attendee and organisation segments for a specific outreach objective, we need the client’s product details. We ask for the client website so we can match product category and use cases to the OT Show’s learning and exhibition context.

Please share the client website. We will review it and then confirm which types of attendee profiles and organisation categories are most likely to be relevant for that specific product.

10) Suggested industries and OT-aligned categories for research (based on event relevance)

The OT Show is firmly inside healthcare and professional practice domains. For event research, we suggest applying industry filters and category mapping aligned to occupational therapy, allied health, healthcare services, and clinical training/education.

We will map the event audience into the closest industry groups used in our research workflow, such as:

• Health, Wellness & Fitness
• Hospital & Health Care
• Medical Practice
• Education Management (where OT education/training is relevant)
• Professional Training & Coaching (CPD and training providers)
• Nonprofit Organization Management (where OT-relevant charities and support organisations attend)
• Events Services (where conference/expo programming capability matters)

11) What we can validate from the official website content (summary)

• Event name: The Occupational Therapy Show (The OT Show)
• Dates: 25–26 November 2026
• Venue: NEC Birmingham
• Core positioning: UK’s leading healthcare event and CPD accredited conference for occupational therapists
• National reach indicator: free national event tailored for occupational therapists
• Scale highlights on the official site: 100+ hours of CPD sessions, keynotes & exhibitor demos; 200+ suppliers under one roof

Next step (so we can tailor research to your client)

Please share the client website and a short description of what the client offers (e.g., product category, target user, clinical use cases, and geography). We will then refine the audience segmentation for The OT Show by matching the product to the most relevant OT roles and organisation types attending the conference and expo.