Integrated Systems Europe chooses Barcelona as its new permanent headquarters in 2021

Barcelona, and specifically the fairgrounds of this city Fira – Gran Via, will be the new permanent headquarters of ISE in the edition 2021, as officially confirmed this Thursday by the producers of the world's largest AV and systems integration event., Integrated Systems Events.

Integrated Systems Europe (WHEREAS), the most important and growing global event in the last fifteen years dedicated to systems integration and audiovisual and digital signage technology, will be held in Spain, specifically in Barcelona, which becomes permanent headquarters in the year 2021.

This has been confirmed by its producers, Integrated Systems Events, through a statement, in which they make it clear that the editions of 2019 y 2020 will be held at the Amsterdam RAI, and the reasons for this change to the fairgrounds of Barcelona Fair – Gran Via, but not the data on the duration of this contract and specific dates of celebration., to maintain those of recent years at the beginning of the month of February.

As Mike Blackman explains, director general de Integrated Systems Events (in the image), “the fairground RAI Amsterdam They have provided a fantastic location; They have been great partners and have contributed to the success of the fair. However, Exhibitor demand and the continued increase in the number of attendees showed us that the limited exhibition space was in danger of slowing down the development of the fair.. Despite all our efforts, “This was not a problem we could solve by staying at RAI Amsterdam.”.

The decision to move ISE comes after eighteen months of investigation into the feasibility of remaining at the Dutch city's exhibition grounds.. With international audiovisual growth that will grow by 5% annual up to 2021, It was concluded that ISE was outgrowing its traditional location of the last fourteen years in RAI Amsterdam.

The figures support it, As can be seen in the ISE Specials made since Digital AV Magazine began its informative activity. Concretely, the latest edition -ISE 2018-, attracted 80.923 assistants, of which 22.000 They visited the fair for the first time, while 1.296 exhibitors filled the 53.000 net m2 of surface area of ​​the fifteen RAI Amsterdam pavilions (more information in this diary), and ISE is expected to 2019 have record numbers again.

“Before making this important decision – Blackman points out –, We carry out an exhaustive study among exhibitors and attendees and visit many of the main exhibition centers in Europe. Announcing our move to one of the largest and most prestigious convention complexes in Europe, We can now continue to focus on creating a unique experience for everyone and confidently plan the long-term development of the fair”.

This official adds that “at the same time, We will ensure that the remaining two editions of ISE at RAI Amsterdam are the best in its illustrious history and a fitting way to close our fourteen-year relationship. (since the first edition, in the year 2004, took place in the Swiss city of Geneva) with the headquarters and the city”.

The co-owners of ISE, the associations Avixa y give in, have also highlighted the positive benefits of the decision to relocate to Barcelona.

For David Labuskes, CEO of Avixa, has noted that “our thinking in making this decision has been driven by the desire to serve and offer value to our members.”, attendees and exhibitors at ISE. We can achieve these goals in a place that can evolve with us and continue to reflect the market in which we work. The continued success of ISE and the anticipated growth in the AV business meant we knew this decision would have to be made at short notice., and that it is time allows us to control events and ensure a smooth transition”.

For your part, Tabatha O’Connor, global president and CEO of Cedia, underlines that “the city of Barcelona is one of the most vibrant and exciting in Europe. “It is the perfect choice for an exhibition and a growing industry that breeds creativity and commerce”.

Barcelona Fair, reference of the largest AV fair in the world

The ISE organizers highlight in their statement that Fira de Barcelona is one of the leading trade fair organizations in Europe and is closely linked to the Barcelona brand., a city with more than a century of fair tradition. Their annual economic contribution to this city and its surroundings is estimated at more than 2.600 million euros.

This consortium, formed by the Barcelona City Council, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, combines public ownership with autonomous management of the company. Fira de Barcelona has two fairgrounds (with more than 400.000 m2 of surface and fourteen pavilions) and welcome 140 international fairs per year, with more than 30.000 exhibitors and more than two million attendees, with the celebration of Mobile World Congress in recent years as a reference in the world, and whose contract with Fira ends in the year 2023.

As indicated in the official statement sent by Integrated Systems Events, ISE editions for 2019 y 2020 will take place at RAI Amsterdam “and are expected to be the largest and most successful of the fair's all-year history”.