The 2019 edition of Integrated Systems Europe, the penultimate ISE gathering in Amsterdam, set another attendance record, with 81,268 crossing the turnstiles during the four-day exhibition that’s become the largest pro AV show in the world. [related]
That new figure is up slightly from 2018, when 80,923 people attended the show.
Almost one-third of the registered visitors for ISE 2019 were first-time attendees. The 15 halls were packed with more people than any show at the RAI Amsterdam on Feb. 6, with attendance on the final day topping 20,000 people for the first time in the show’s history.
ISE, which was at the RAI from Feb. 5 to 8, “was the biggest, broadest-reaching and most exciting edition of the show ever – confirming it as the international destination of choice for AV professionals,” according to the ISE press release announcing the new Integrated Systems Europe attendance standard.
Integrated Systems Europe Exhibitor Attendance
ISE 2019 offered the show’s largest variety of professional development programs in the show’s 16-year history and featured 1,301 exhibitors spread across more than 600,000 square feet of space. Of the total exhibitor count, 225 had booths for the first time.
By the close of 2019, ISE organizers had sold 92 percent of the available floor space for ISE 2020, set for its final Amsterdam edition Feb. 11-14 before relocating to Barcelona, Spain in 2021.
“As an exhibition, as an unbeatable source of education and professional development, and as a destination for a global industry to come together and do business, ISE 2019 has delivered,” said ISE managing director Mike Blackman.
“Our opening address, closing keynote and our two projection mapping features were fantastic showcases for how event professionals and others can harness AV technology to better realize their creativity.”
Trade Org’s Presence at ISE 2019
For AVIXA and CEDIA, the event offered the opportunity to showcase their various initiatives for 2019 in the areas of professional development and industry representation.
“AVIXA defines success as being a catalyst for the growth of the global AV market and a hub for the profession and its practitioners,” said AVIXA CEO David Labuskes in the ISE announcement.
“We certainly saw those twin goals become reality in Amsterdam. All of the focused conferences throughout the week, including AVIXA’s sold-out ‘What’s Next’ conferences for higher education and enterprise technologists, and networking opportunities, such as those held for AVIXA’s Women’s Council and EMEA members, help bring people together in order to propel this industry forward.
“Our FlashTracks stage of training opportunities was buzzing, and special programmes, like ISE’s student programme for fostering workforce development, demonstrated some of the many ways the show continues to be a dynamic, critical gathering of industry professionals…The commercial value of a trade fair like ISE cannot be overestimated nor over-celebrated,” he said.
