Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world's largest IT/AV integration fair, changes Amsterdam to Barcelona starting with the 2021 edition

The Fira-Gran Vía exhibition center will be the new permanent headquarters of the world's largest audiovisual systems integration event.

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the most important and growing global event in the last fifteen years dedicated to the integration of systems and audiovisual and digital signage technology, will be held in Barcelona from its 2021 edition.

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

As Mike Blackman, CEO of Integrated Systems Events (pictured), explains, “the showground RAI Amsterdam han proporcionado una ubicación fantástica; han sido grandes socios y han contribuido al éxito de la feria. Sin embargo, la demanda de los expositores y el continuo aumento en el número de asistentes nos mostraron que el limitado espacio de exposición estaba en peligro de frenar el desarrollo de la feria. A pesar de todos nuestros esfuerzos, este no era un problema que pudiéramos resolver quedándonos en RAI Ámsterdam”.

The decision to move ISE comes after eighteen months of investigation into the viability of remaining at the Dutch city's exhibition grounds. With international audiovisual growth set to grow by 5% annually until 2021, it was concluded that ISE was surpassing its traditional location of the last fourteen years in RAI Amsterdam.

The last edition -ISE 2018- attracted 80,923 attendees, of which 22,000 visited the fair for the first time, while 1,296 exhibitors filled the 53,000 m² net surface area of ​​the fifteen RAI Amsterdam pavilions, and ISE 2019 is expected to have record numbers again.

"Before making this important decision - Blackman points out -, we carried out an exhaustive study among exhibitors and attendees and visited many of the main exhibition centers in Europe. By 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 two remaining 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 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, he 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 objectives in a venue 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 that we knew that this decision would have to be made in a short time, and that this time allows us to monitor events and ensure a smooth transition."

For her part, Tabatha O'Connor, global president and CEO of Cedia, emphasizes 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 engenders creativity and commerce."

Fira de Barcelona, ​​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 trade fair tradition. Its annual economic contribution to this city and its surroundings is estimated at more than 2.6 billion euros.

This consortium, formed by 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 hosts 140 international fairs a 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 benchmark in the world, and whose contract with Fira ends in 2023.

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