Once more I have the great pleasure of welcoming you to IBC. I firmly believe that IBC is the most vital event of the year for all parts of the media and entertainment industry.
That is in large part because of you, our visitors and delegates. You come because you need to discover the latest in technology and practice, and because you are keen to share knowledge. It is the spirit of collaboration and co-operation that creates the atmosphere of IBC, which in turn is what makes it so effective.
One way of sharing, which we have extended this year, is our Touch & Connect networking. We have experimented with building networks alongside the delivery of information for the last two years, and those trials have led to a new and comprehensive system this year, which is available to everyone.
Touch & Connect does two really important things for IBC. First, it allows attendees to build up the knowledge and the contacts that will be important to them throughout the coming year. Second, it allows us to see precisely what our visitors need, which means we can make IBC2016 even better focused.
But we have a rich and varied IBC2015 for you to enjoy first. As ever, we continue to innovate, adding new ideas which reflect our changing world. We have our first Hackfest, for example: 48 hours of concerted brainstorming which might just come up with next year’s hit product.
The conference has the overall theme of ‘The Future of Media in an Age of Disruption’, and features a remarkable programme. Keynote speakers include JB Perrette, president of Discovery Networks International, Dominic Glynn, the senior scientist at Pixar, and even Lord Michael Dobbs, author of House of Cards.
We add to that the IBC Leaders’ Summit which took place yesterday and was a great success, and the regular opportunity for new entrants to the industry to gain a foothold in our Rising Stars programme. All this, plus dedicated theatres on the show floor for presentations in cutting edge technologies, and of course the IBC Big Screen Experience where the absolute state of the art in cinema technology is on show.
Our exhibition space has expanded once more, with the latest building on the RAI campus, the Amtrium, also becoming an exhibition hall for IBC. It gives us the space to accommodate more than 1700 exhibitors, each of which brings innovation, excitement and the prospect of a more engaging, creative and efficient future.
Whatever your agenda here at IBC2015, I hope your time with us is productive and effective, and I look forward to seeing you around the show.
By Michael Crimp, CEO, IBC
