Yesterday saw Mike Blackman, managing director of Integrated Systems Events, open ISE Live and Online – the 17th year of the show and the first year being held at the Fira de Barcelona.
After a rollercoaster year, the idea of an in-person event seemed highly unlikely to many. The show has gone from its usual four-day exhibition packed full of thousands of exhibitors and visitors, to four local events to be held throughout June in Barcelona, Munich, Amsterdam, and London. Just a month ago, the Munich and Amsterdam events had to be cancelled, leaving just the Barcelona and London shows to go ahead.
Due to travel restrictions and quarantining requirements, there are many unable to visit ISE in-person this year, which is why organisers have taken a hybrid approach, introducing ISE Digital for those at home.
The platform offers virtual visitors a packed schedule of keynotes, seminars, reporter roundtables, market insights, and more from the Main Stage, Partner Hubs, a Product Innovation Channel, and six Technology Channels.
Visitors to the site can also join in via the polls and live chat available during the livestream sessions. For those Spanish visitors unable to travel to Barcelona, there is a Spanish-language channel available. A Student Zone is also available through a collaboration between CEDIA, AVIXA and ISE looking to provide information to students looking to forge careers in the AV industry.
This year’s show is the first to be held in Barcelona, marking a significant milestone in the development of ISE, which launched 17 years ago by Mike Blackman and three other staff members.
Arriving in style, representatives of the Fira, ISE co-owners AVIXA and ISE exhibitors joined Blackman on a symbolic trip by motorbike from ISE’s office in Munich to Barcelona, stopping en route in Geneva, the location of the first ISE show in 2004.
Speaking at a press conference just before the doors to ISE in Barcelona opened, Blackman said: “To more recent events; you do not need me to comment too deeply on our shared experiences of the past 15 months. The effects have been universal, and our heartfelt sympathy goes to all countries, businesses and individuals touched by it. No one has escaped. Yes, in more recent times, the light at the end of the tunnel has begun to glimmer and then to shine, which is why after conducting exhaustive research with our exhibitors, partners, and owners, we decided that ISE Barcelona, Live and Online, should take place. And here we are.”
He added: “ISE Barcelona is the first in-person event we have produced since February 2020. We’ve always said that ISE is a destination to learn, to network and to do business. Here today, you will find world-leading technology suppliers and solutions providers in attendance. Plus, there is a compelling mix of content being produced live on the ISE Main Stage and in AVIXA’s AV Experience Zone.
“I’m delighted to report that there’s massive support from the industry for ISE 2022 next February. Our stand rebooking process starts in earnest next week, and we are confident that it will be ‘business as normal, business in Barcelona’. In fact, many of our biggest clients are already asking for more space than they had last year. Pre-reservations from our top 50 clients amount to 37,000 net square metres – that’s equivalent to around two-thirds of the entire space that we had at ISE 2020. It also demonstrates why we had to relocate here to the Fira de Barcelona to accommodate this enthusiastic demand.”
ISE 2022 will be held from 1-4 February at the Fira de Barcelona.