Over 28,000 registered to attend ISE audiovisual fair, with many more expected to sign up

Just over 28,000 people have already registered to attend the world's largest audiovisual fair, Integrated Systems Events (ISE), which will take place in Barcelona from May 10 to 13 after being postponed due to Covid.

"The majority – in mobile I believe it's over 60% of their registrations happen in the last three weeks before the show," Mike Blackman, ISE's managing director, said on Thursday morning. "We anticipate that in the next two weeks the registration numbers will start to build up."

There will also be more than 800 exhibitors, including Google, LANG Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, and Zoom, spread out across 5 pavilions at the Fira Gran Via convention center this year.

ISE, which relocated to Barcelona after 16 years in Amsterdam, usually attracts over 1,000 exhibitors and almost 100,000 attendees, but figures are expected to be somewhat lower because of the pandemic, albeit to a lesser extent than last year.

Organizers are confident that the number of participating companies will continue to grow, reaching 1,775 in four years' time, which would also translate into taking up a larger venue space: 77,000 sqm in 2026.

Half a billion euros by 2026

ISE is expected to draw in between €250m and €300m by next year.

According to Blackman, this figure is likely to be "in excess of €500m" for Barcelona's economy by 2026. "We see huge potential," he said.

As for the AV sector, it is set to grow to $329bn by 2026 with average growth rates of 7.2%. Across Spain, the industry should generate €3bn in 2022 and rise by 6.2% by 2026.