ISE 2021 has cancelled its plans to run as an in-person event in Barcelona from June 1-4, with the show now taking the form of ISE Live & Online – a series of regional events in Barcelona, Munich, Amsterdam and London.

The regional events will feature a significant digital offering powered by Cisco.

The decision was made by Integrated Systems Events co-owners AVIXA and CEDIA due to the ongoing uncertainty around COVID-19 restrictions. 

ISE managing director Mike Blackman said in a statement: “We have reached this decision following extensive discussions with our exhibitors over the last few months, and more explicitly, these last 10 days. All along there has been a clear demand for a four-day ISE show in Barcelona in June. However, uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and international travel remains, which means we are unable to run ISE 2021 in its traditional format. 

“Our exhibitors have made it clear that there is a desire to get the industry together, but on a local level. In response, we are targeting Europe’s key markets across the AV sector and aim to deliver a quality audience who want to meet potential suppliers, existing customers and network with their peers.

“For 2021, we have a rich and exciting digital offering,” Blackman continued. “We are proud to be working with Cisco on this innovative approach. We will be bringing ISE to four cities in June and continuing with our popular RISE Spotlight programme throughout the year. Working with the industry in this way, we will be providing meaningful opportunities for sales teams to meet their customers, for people to experience product innovations, and of course, for networking.”

ISE Live & Online will run in a roadshow format as follows:

1-2 June, Fira Barcelona (Tue/Wed)
8-9 June, MAC Forum, Munich (Tue / Wed)
15-16 June, RAI, Amsterdam (Tue/Wed)
23-24 June, Evolution, Battersea, London (Wed/Thurs)

“Covid has taught us all to listen more attentively,” added David Labuskes, AVIXA CEO. “Listen to our neighbours, our family, our co-workers, our customers and our market.  I believe this approach reflects what we’ve heard, a strong desire for prudent and safe face-to-face gatherings that can reinforce business connections and initiate growth.  We are honoured to be in a position to offer these to our community.”

Giles Sutton, joint CEO of CEDIA, said, “Everyone in the industry is missing the human interaction that is such a vital part of our industry – the opportunity not just to see, hear and touch new products and innovations in our sector but also everything that ISE brings in terms of learning, networking and that all important sense of community. The ISE team has worked tirelessly to ensure that guidelines could be in place to protect our exhibitors and visitors on-site. 

“However, there remains uncertainty around current travel restrictions and the ability for our global audience to take part in person. The success of ISE has been built on broad industry support and that is the reason why we have taken these decisions this week.  We look forward to a debut show where our community can all be together again in Barcelona in February 2022.”