ISE 2024, the AV world’s largest congregation – celebrating its 20th anniversary – opened its doors at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via on Tuesday, 30th January, to its biggest show ever.
A total of 1,408 exhibitors – with as many as 200 first-timers – from seven technology segments have come to occupy as much as 82,000 square meters of exhibition space across eight halls of the venue.
It also saw the return of Korean display giants LG and Samsung, besides the Drone Area.
Briefing the media before officially declaring the event open, ISE Managing Director Michael Blackman said the exhibition floor space is 30 per cent larger than the 2023 edition. Still, keeping in view the exceedingly growing demand for more, plans were underway to add 25 per cent more or approx. 32,000 sqm space into what would be called Hall Zero.
According to the ISE chief, the expanded space, when complete, would make the venue the sixth largest convention centre in Europe.
Recalling the very first edition of ISE in 2004 in Geneva where 120 exhibitors had an attendance of 3,500 visitors, Blackman said in twenty years, the event has grown manifold to reach where it is today.
While the 2023 edition last year was attended by over 58,000 unique visitors from 155 countries with 126,243 in-person visits, this year’s show is expected to cross 80,000 unique visitors, which would be a 25 per cent increase over last year’s footfalls.
In terms of technology, while it has on-show products and systems from all segments and domains of the spectrum, the major attractions are projectors, large-scale LED video walls, fine pixel pitch as well as Micro LEDs, spatial audio and 3D sound, cloud-based AV solutions, touchless and gesture control technology, and sustainable AV.
“The new Welcome Screen at the South Access to the Fira venue is powered by 100 per cent green energy from renewable sources, of which 40 per cent is powered in local wind farms, preventing losses from the electrical grid,” noted the ISE chief.
With regard to artificial intelligence, Blackman said the event is already ahead of the curve, with much of the event’s programming having AI as an integral part- in the event conferences, keynote addresses, and live performances.
