Barcelona-Catalonia showcases its audiovisual sector at Integrated Systems Europe

The Catalan Government will have a both physical and virtual pavilion at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) congress with the aim of promoting the Catalan audiovisual sector. Via ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the Catalan Innovation Zone will host 20 Catalan companies to facilitate the search for investors, partners and customers, as well as to gain visibility and open up new international markets.

ISE is the leading trade fair for the audiovisual and integrated systems sector in Europe. From 2021 Barcelona is the new permanent venue for the event, which up to now had been held in Amsterdam. It will take place on the 1st and 2nd of June at the Fira de Barcelona, with a mix of both physical and virtual presence.

Mike Blackman, ISE’s managing director: “We decided to come to Barcelona because it is a technology-based city”

Mike Blackman, managing director at ISE, highlights in this interview the aspects that make Barcelona-Catalonia a powerful location to host a technology-based tradeshow. According to Blackman, leading audiovisual companies will be present at ISE as a sign that the industry is now coming back and that the show is fully committed to Barcelona.

Catalan participation

The Catalan companies and entities that will have a physical and virtual space in the Barcelona-Catalonia pavilion at the ISE are:

• Amate
• OnionLab
• OPTIMUS
• Arthur Holm
• nsign.tv 
• EZ Acoustics
• ebantic
• RIS3CAT Media Community
• iDISC
• ADTEL
• BAU Design College of Barcelona
• Sono
• IZI
• MitisWorld
• Waapiti
• Percon
• Watchity
• Albadalejo 
• Lavinia Services
• Window Sight

All are dedicated to the development of hardware, software and services in the audio and video sector in areas such as virtual reality, content management platforms, 3D mapping, equipment management and audiovisual production, among others.

Another of the Catalan companies that will take part in the congress is Advanced Music, responsible for the pioneering Sónar Festival. The company’s CEO, Ventura Barba, explains in this interview how the events sector is connecting with the audiovisual industry following the pandemic.

Open Innovation Challenge

Along with the participation of these twenty companies, Catalonia Trade & Investment has also organized the Open Innovation Challenge. This consists of physical and virtual meetings between more than 300 startups and companies with multinationals and international investors such as LG, Samsung, Hyundai, Henkel and Damm, among others.

There will be 30-minute networking meetings during which companies will have to present their projects to the challenges posed by companies in order to foster an open innovation environment.

Pitches from Catalan startups

Furthermore, with the goal of positioning the Catalan audiovisual sector internationally, Catalonia Trade & Investment has also organized a series of pitches by Catalan startups at the ISE to shine a light on the technologies being developed in Catalonia in this sector and facilitate the search for new investors for these emerging companies.

So, within the framework of the ISE Startup Nation space (in collaboration with The Next Web), some ten startups and three local investment funds will present their projects in the video game, smart cities, and augmented and virtual reality subsectors. The presentations will be open to attendees at the show and will also be broadcast live around the world via ISE digital channels.

The Catalan audiovisual sector

There are currently more than 1,100 companies in the audiovisual sector in Catalonia, with a total turnover of 6.7 billion euros and a workforce of around 26,000 people, according to a study by Catalonia Trade & Investment which can be consulted here.

According to the report, there are three main business segments in Catalonia: audiovisual entertainment (the first in terms of turnover and number of employees); communication and advertising; and the media.