GILE Guangzhou Lighting Fair: Dates, Visitors and Lead Lists

The Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) is one of the largest lighting fairs in the world and the Asian sister of Frankfurt’s Light + Building. It fills around 250,000 m² across 25 halls with lighting products, LED components and smart lighting solutions. Since the Pearl River Delta manufactures much of the world’s lighting, the GILE attendee and exhibitor list maps a big share of the global lighting supply chain.

This guide is written for teams planning the June 2027 show.

GILE quick facts


Industry	Lighting / LED
City	Guangzhou, China
Venue	China Import and Export Fair Complex (Canton Fair Complex), Pazhou, Guangzhou
Dates	June, 2026: 9–12 Jun
Frequency	Annual
Moves between cities?	No, always Guangzhou
Typical scale	~180,000 attendees · ~3,000 exhibitors
Visitor ticket	Free trade pre-registration
App / platform	Online registration + Messe Frankfurt WeChat (no dedicated app found)
Official website	light.messefrankfurt.com.cn

Details checked in October 2026. Dates, prices and venues can change between editions, so confirm on the official GILE website before you book travel.

What is GILE?

GILE is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt and Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt. It runs alongside the Guangzhou International Building Electrical Technology Exhibition. Product areas include:

Residential, commercial and architectural lighting
LED packaging, chips and components
Smart lighting and controls
Urban landscape and smart street lighting
Lighting accessories and power supplies
Building electrical technology

The trend in recent editions is clear: smart lighting, human-centric lighting and integrated building controls.

Canton Fair Complex Area A and the Canton Fair building in Guangzhou

GILE takes over Zones A and B of the Canton Fair Complex every June. Photo: 中少, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Venue and dates

GILE is held every June at the Canton Fair Complex, 382 Yuejiang Middle Road, Pazhou, in halls across Zones A and B. The 2026 edition ran from 9 to 12 June. It’s always in Guangzhou, and June brings heat and humidity, so plan your days in the halls accordingly.

Who attends GILE

Attendee	What they want	Who wants to reach them
Lighting importers, distributors and wholesalers	New suppliers and ranges	Lighting manufacturers
Architects, lighting designers and specifiers	Products to specify	Architectural and smart lighting brands
Contractors and engineering companies	Project supply	Manufacturers with project capability
Retail and e-commerce lighting buyers	Consumer ranges	OEM factories
OEM/ODM sourcing managers	Private-label partners	Factories, component makers
Municipal and real-estate project buyers	Street and building lighting	Smart city lighting suppliers

Your competitors are already on the GILE floor plan. I map the exhibitors and visitor profiles for GILE into one clean spreadsheet, so you can see who matters before the doors open. Contact me about GILE

Registration

Trade visitors register online in advance. Free pre-registration is standard for Messe Frankfurt shows in China, but check light.messefrankfurt.com.cn for current terms. It’s trade-only, and minors are generally not admitted.

Finding the right exhibitors

No dedicated app was confirmed. Registration, exhibitor search and updates are on the official website and the organisers’ WeChat accounts. The biggest challenge at GILE is volume: large zones of commodity LED products sit next to innovative smart lighting firms, and most exhibitors are factories. A pre-qualified, enriched list lets you skip straight to the companies that match your criteria.

Pros and cons

Pros

The complete lighting supply chain in one venue
Messe Frankfurt quality and reach
Free entry for trade visitors
Strong smart and connected lighting innovation
Timing suits second-half buying cycles

Cons

Large commodity LED zones with price-driven exhibitors
June heat and humidity
Mostly factory sellers, so verification is needed
Language barriers at smaller booths
Overlaps with the Guzhen lighting fair for some buyers

The app won’t let you export. I can help. If you need GILE participant data in a spreadsheet instead of a locked app, tell me which segments you care about and I’ll build the file. Get the GILE data

Planning a GILE visit

Decide whether you need finished products, components or controls, then focus on those halls.
Separate factories from traders before the show.
If you’re a specifier, target the architectural and smart lighting halls.
Combine the trip with Guzhen if you source decorative or commodity lighting.
Request samples at the booth and log them in your CRM with photos.
Follow up within a week with clear specs and target pricing.

FAQ

When is GILE?

Every June at the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou. The 2026 edition ran 9–12 June.

Yes. GILE is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt and is the Asian sister of Light + Building.

Is GILE free to attend?

Free pre-registration is standard for Messe Frankfurt China shows; check the official site for current terms.

Can I get the GILE exhibitor list?

The website has exhibitor search, not an enriched export. I can build a CRM-ready GILE list for you.

Turn GILE into booked meetings

Most teams arrive at a show like GILE with a booth, a brochure and no plan for who they actually need to meet. I’m Ilyas, and through Prospector I build enriched attendee, exhibitor and speaker lists for B2B sales teams: job titles, companies, company size, industry, LinkedIn profiles and work emails where available, delivered as a CSV or Excel file that imports straight into HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive. Tell me which event you’re going to and who you sell to, and I’ll take it from there.

Contact me on the home page to request your GILE list

Sources

Photo credits

Cover image: Canton Fair Complex Phase 4 by 中少, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In-article image: Canton Fair Complex Area A and Canton Fair Building by 中少, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.