World’s largest audiovisual fair delays first Barcelona edition to June amid Covid-19 fears

The world's largest audiovisual fair, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), has rescheduled its first edition in Barcelona from February 2021 to June over coronavirus concerns.

"Given the understandable concerns among all of our stakeholders regarding coronavirus, and the uncertainty regarding travel restrictions and country lockdowns, we have concluded it is not prudent to maintain our original schedule of an in-person February 2021 trade show," said the fair’s managing director Mike Blackman in a press release. "We feel by moving the event to June, it provides time for the industry to adapt and restore balance."

With this year's edition of the fair bringing together 80,000 visitors in Amsterdam, organizers chose Barcelona as the new host city, given that the Fira de Barcelona venues offered enough space for the trade fair to keep growing.

Integrated Systems Europe is set to become one of Barcelona's largest business events, following in the footsteps of the city's other flagship trade shows, like the Mobile World Congress (109,000 visitors in 2019) and the Saló Alimentària food fair (150,000 attendees in 2018).