speakers lined up had also increased from last year to over 325. WHAT WERE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT? There’s always a dizzying swirl of buzzwords present at trade shows; some stay resolutely at the top of the conversational food chain, however there is always a rise and fall in topic popularity each year. The topics we picked up on, both in the show’s many talks and from exhibitors on the show floor, included the following: • AI • 5G • VR/AR/XR • Gaming • Edge computing These topics were also emphasised by proof- of-concept demonstrations delivered by the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme projects, which championed cross-industry collaboration and new use cases. The focus on gaming was especially hard to miss, with IBC’s launch of an immersive Esports Showcase. Working in partnership with Unlocked, the latest innovations in esports production and delivery were presented; the showcase also acted as a valuable space for industry experts to explore key trends and opportunities at the intersection of gaming and media.
ACTIVE AGENDAS There was plenty to occupy the time of the 43,000 attendees who landed in Amsterdam in September
RISE UP Rise, a group for women in broadcast, as always pulled out all the stops to empower the usually outnumbered female show attendees. It raised the show curtain on Saturday with a flash mob in collaboration with Streaming Media and GalsNGear. Helen Weedon, managing director of Radical Moves, who took part in the flash mob, was quoted in IBC Daily: “We want to show that women are here in force, but highlight that this might be less noticeable as soon as you enter the show floor.” This much was true, and it was hard to ignore the skewing of the equality scale when it came to numbers of male panellists and speakers as opposed to women and non-binary, a recurrent issue at so many trade events throughout the year. But initiatives like Rise having a growing presence at historically male-focused events offers hope for the future. At the Rise stand, 250 ‘emergency kits’ were given away – little bundles of essentials for any woman doing her rounds on the show floor that needed it. Additionally, Rise organised a Safe Car Initiative, which safely escorted 40 women back to their hotels after their evening events had concluded.
THE FOCUS ON GAMING WAS HARD TO MISS, WITH IBC’S LAUNCH OF AN IMMERSIVE ESPORTS SHOWCASE
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