IBC REPORT LARGEST EVER ATTENDANCE

IBC2000 have confirmed their reputation as the world's electronic media event, attracting more than 45,000 attendees from over 130 countries.
Attendance climbed 19 per cent on last year, with a record numbers of visitors from every region. While Africa, Asia, North, Central and South America showed a healthy increase, the biggest growth again came from Europe and Scandinavia.
John Wilson, IBC President, said: “We are very pleased with the continued growth in attendance. However, IBC holds a deserved reputation for attracting top quality visitors and this is the key to our success. The newcomers are of the highest calibre. We have shown growth and maintained quality, which is a significant achievement.” The Conference also attracted record audiences with many sessions full.
Dr Chris Dalton, IBC Conference Chairman, said: “We all know that the electronic media business is going through a period of dramatic change and with this has come a hunger for information and knowledge. The Papers sessions were busy but the real growth in attendance came in the Panels, Tutorials, Workshops and Mini-Conferences. These streams brought delegates the state-of-the-art in many key subjects including d-Cinema, multimedia content creation, Internet, and interactivity. Our editorial programme was spot-on this year and plans are already well underway to accommodate the extra delegates we have targeted for IBC2001.”
This year the subjects, ‘Getting the Right Kit’, ‘Desktop Editing’ and ‘Opportunities in New Media’ proved popular and so the idea looks set to be repeated next year.
The IBC Sunday Spectacular, a one-hour stage show, combined all the IBC Awards with entertainment from Lionel Richie and hosted by Sky TV's Kate Garraway. One of the highlights of the evening for the 2000 strong audience was the presentation of the IBC Award for Excellence (The IBC John Tucker Award) to Dr Ray Dolby. A full list of all the award winners, including the IBC John Etheridge Awards for best stand design as well as the IBC Widescreen Festival's Golden Rembrandts for best drama and best documentary, can be found on the IBC website at www.ibc.org.
IBC2001 will take place from 13-18 September (Exhibits 14-18) and forward bookings indicate this show will be bigger and better than ever.
Bob van der Leeden, IBC Exhibition Chairman, said: “So far, more than 38,000 square metres of space have been booked, compared with a final total of 42,000 at IBC2000. On average companies are re-booking 10% more space for 2001. I feel that this is a not just a reflection of the dynamic growth in the industry but also an endorsement of IBC's central position within the marketplace.”