The final numbers for ISE 2023 are in. In an official show release, "ISE 2023 delivered in style for the global AV and systems integration industry and the city of Barcelona (31 January-3 February 2023). Returning to its normal Jan/Feb timeslot in the AV calendar, ISE 2023 had 58,107 unique attendees from 155 countries, alongside record-breaking occupation in the city’s hotels, bars, and entertainment venues, and with exhibitors reporting unparalleled footfall on booths across the largest ever ISE show floor."
There was buzz like we haven't heard in several years at any trade show as tens of thousands of attendees flooded the Fira Barcelona, Gran Via in Spain for Integrated Systems Europe, January 31 through February 2, 2023. The energy and excitement levels were palpable.
Just minutes before the close of Day 3, Integrated Systems Events managing director, Mike Blackman, sat down with Systems Contractor News' content director, Mark Pescatore, to discuss early numbers on ISE 2023, and discusses changes ahead for ISE 2024.
[Winners Announced: Best of Show at Integrated Systems Europe 2023]
"We have our internal bets, and I pushed the marketing team; they've done a great job. I mean, firstly, in terms of the number of exhibitors, we had over 1,055 exhibitors participating in the show," Blackman said. While this doesn't beat the 1,300 exhibitors of ISE 2019, it still exceeds where the goal team had hoped to achieve this year. "We missed a lot of Chinese companies who wanted to be here, but the lockdown made it difficult for them to actually get here," he explained. "What we did overachieve was the number of square meters on the show floor, and with almost 57,000 net square meters of floor space, that is actually the largest footprint of an ISE ever."
[Reporting from the ISE 2023 Twitterverse: Updated]
Changes Ahead for ISE 2024
"One of the struggles we've always had is how do we let pro audio companies do real demonstrations without disturbing their neighbors," Blackman explained. From audio demos, content production and distribution, and other areas which have gained momentum, Blackman discusses the changes that will be implemented in 2024.
Check out the full interview below.
Systems Contractor News and AV Technology would like to thank Epiphan Video for providing the booth, gear, and team for us to deliver a broadcast-quality video production.
