Show moves
ISE, ISE baby…growing big and
Barcelona bound
Mike Blackman, Managing Director Integrated Systems Events (ISE), tells EW about
the reasons and challenges for moving the AV systems integration industry’s
giant tradeshow from Amsterdam to Barcelona
ntegrated Systems
Europe began quite
modestly in 2004 in
Geneva, in a single hall
with 120 exhibitors and 3,500 visitors.
It was enough of a success, however, to
resonate with the audiovisual systems
integration industry. Clearly there
was potential for something much
more substantial and, in the years
since, exhibitor numbers, floor space
and visitor numbers have all grown
steadily, with a fourth day added in
2016.
“We’ve gradually grown from a
simple industry shop window to
become a destination for people to
come together to share ideas, bolster
their professional qualifications and
gain new insights – not just from
their peers, but from other industries
that intersect with ours,” says ISE
MD Mike Blackburn, who points out
the geographical reach of the show
extends way beyond Europe with
attendees coming from 188 countries
to ISE 2019 in February at the RAI in
Amsterdam.
That 16th edition added 2,787sqm of
floor space to take ISE to a maximum
at the RAI. Blackburn is managing to
nudge that up a little, however, for
2020.
“We’re adding a further 766sqm,
mainly through an extension to Hall
5 at the Amsterdam RAI. This hall
was augmented with a temporary
structure for this year’s show, but
it will have a larger, permanent
extension at ISE 2020.”
All but two of the 16 editions of ISE
have been at the RAI, so it is likely to
64
Issue 3 2019
Above:
ISE has grown
from an industry
shop window to
a destination for
sharing ideas and
insights
be a wrench for the show to leave after
ISE 2020 in search of pastures new in
Barcelona.
“The RAI and the City of Amsterdam
have both made major contributions
to what ISE is today, and we’ve had
a very fruitful co-operation. So the
decision to leave was a difficult but
necessary one,” admits Blackburn.
“It became clear that the RAI
wouldn’t be able to accommodate our
growth in the coming years. We’ve
maxed out on exhibition space, and
we’re also getting close to capacity on
visitor numbers. The Wednesday of
ISE 2019 saw the largest single-day
attendance of any event at the RAI,
and crowd control measures have
become an important part of our show
planning.
“Moving to a bigger venue will
remove these constraints and
concerns. The Gran Vía venue at the
Fira de Barcelona has a total area of
200,000sqm, so that will provide us
with growing room for some time to
come.”
Blackburn is keen to underline
it is not just about numbers on the
showfloor. “The larger venue will
also enable us to further increase the
number and variety of show features
and professional development
opportunities,” he notes.
So, how do the two city destinations
compare on price/value?
“They are broadly comparable.
We’re working closely with
accommodation agency b network to
secure the best prices for hotel rooms,
and we’re also talking to airlines to let
them know of the increase in demand
for Barcelona as a destination that
ISE’s move there will bring about.”
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk