ISE 2024 solidified its position as a premier destination for industry professionals seeking cutting-edge technologies, insightful education, and unparalleled networking opportunities in the vibrant systems installation sector. The exhibition floor boasted the highest number of exhibitors to date at 1,408. Not surprising given that many companies from segments that had not previously had been part of the event, such as lighting, have now filled a whole new hall.
According to the full attendance data and audience demographics included in the report, among all attendee groups, 24,815 people (33.6%) visited ISE for the first time, with 46.92% of first-time visitors from Spain (a much higher domestic proportion than used to happen in Amsterdam). The total number of visits across the four days reached 172,627, with an average of 2.2 days spent at ISE 2024 by attendees. Daily visits on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all achieved record numbers for those respective days at any edition of ISE.
Over 80% of attendees were from the commercial sector, with a significant presence also from the residential sector. Attendees spanned a wide range of job titles, with CEOs, C-suite executives, and directors making up a substantial portion. 4 out of 5 visitors reported that they either made the final purchasing decision, influenced the decision, or made recommendations for it.
Attendees from 162 countries were represented at ISE 2024, with significant increases seen in attendees from markets such as Germany, Belgium, Poland, and China. Over 90% of total attendance came from the top 30 countries represented at the event.
30% of ISE 2024 attendees stated themselves as End-User, almost 60% of them were first-time attendees. End-Users were primarily focused on sectors such as auditoriums, theaters, entertainment venues, audio and video production rooms for broadcast, corporate offices, collaboration spaces, classrooms or learning spaces and stadiums or sports arenas. 70% of all ISE 2024 attendees stated they were directly involved with audio and/or video installations, 43% of them first-time attendees. Surprisingly, some attendees are now also involved in rental, staging, and live events, which indicates how ISE is now expanding its scope to areas outside of the installation and systems integration market.
The conference produced by AVIXA and CEDIA reflected those expanding trends, and covered vertical markets including content production and distribution, control rooms, digital signage, live events, smart buildings, and smart home technology. Surprisingly, no security, no infrastructure, and other vital systems integration topics addressed.
As the industry reflects on the success of ISE 2024, it seems clear that the Barcelona show will grow for now directly also to the live events and performance sectors, given that all technology companies are already involved. Eventually, the hope is that the show will expand to fill in the very few empty areas of the Fira de Barcelona with more companies that truly matter for installation professionals - in the residential and commercial sectors. The good new is that for audio professionals in general, ISE will continue to have the largest concentration of audio companies exhibiting compared to other "pro audio" shows.
With the next iteration of ISE scheduled for 4-7 February 2025 in Barcelona, the show's continued growth and evolution is certain. ISE 2025 is already shaping up to be even larger than the record-breaking ISE 2024 with over 10% increase in current exhibitors re-booking booths compared to the previous year. The very strong demand for exhibition space has led ISE to expand availability by opening up Hall 8.1. Space is still available, and the booking process opens up to new exhibitors on March 1, 2024.
The promoters have yet to confirm the inevitable name change to Integrated Systems Expo.
Read audioXpress coverage of ISE 2024 here.
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