William Bolton Editor
June 2024 Comment
Last month, me and John had the pleasure of being hosted by Clarion Gaming in Barcelona to see the venue for next year's relocated ICE and learn more about the team's longer term vision for the biggest show in gaming. The inspiration being taken from Mobile World Congress was clear. This year's event had over 100,000 attendees and surpassed half a billion euros in economic impact on the local economy. No bones were made about the fact that festivalising ICE is the ultimate aspiration.
It was interesting to hear from Barcelona Convention Bureau and Fira Barcelona about their integrated city partnership with Clarion and shared vision for how all parties will scale ICE together. Walking around the venue, I struggled to wrap my head around the fact more halls are under construction - it genuinely makes the ExCeL feel small by comparison which is some feat.
AS PART OF THE GROWTH PLAN TO MAKE ICE INTO "A FESTIVAL OF GAMING," ICE WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME A FOUR-DAY EVENT.
There was an eagerness from Stuart and his team for honest feedback and an acknowledgement that everything won't be perfect in Year One. Clarion wants the good, the bad and the ugly from all stakeholders without any sugarcoating. It'll be interesting to see how sectioning ICE into different halls for land-based, sports betting, casino, payments etc. will play out. I understand the logic given the layout, but wonder how exhibitors will feel about it. Do you want to be closer to customers or competitors? Everyone being lumped in together made ICE London special and gave it that sense of community. Finally, as part of the growth plan to make ICE into “A Festival of Gaming,” ICE will eventually become a four-day event. Personally, I feel you never get to see everyone. You've invested the money, you're there anyway, so you may as well invest the time.
There's loads more - sky gardens, travel accessibility, NOVOMATIC has taken over an entire tower - literally - opposite the Fira, but that will come in a longer feature in our September issue. ICE 2025 is going to be big, but might be unrecognisable come 2029.
EDITORIAL ADVERTISING G3 Editor
William Bolton
william@gamingpublishing.com +44 (0)7714690817
G3Newswire Editor Phil Martin
phil@gamingpublishing.co.uk +44 (0)7801 967714
Deputy Editor Karen Southall
karensouthall@gmail.com
Managing Director Lewis Pek
lewis@gamingpublishing.com
International Reporter James Marrison
CONTRIBUTORS
Dmitry Hotsyn, Paul Rees, Edward Price, Max Portelli, James Kilsby,
Viki Vitanyi, Nadiya Attard, Fabio F Kujawski, Isabela Fernandes Pereira, Alexandre Fonseca,
Andreas Bardun, Livia Troise, Pat Davis, Steven Holmes, Ian
Freeman, Gerasim Khachatryan, Artur Ashyrov, Niklas Mravllje, Brian Hallas, Jeremy Stein, Max Francis, Troy Paul
P4 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Commercial Director James Slattery
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Advertising Executive Alison Dronfield
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Advertising Support Executive Jodie Pek
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Digital Marketing Assistant Lauren Mellor
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Chairman John Slattery
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DESIGN & ADMIN
Senior Designer Gareth Irwin
Production Manager Paul Jolleys
Commercial Administrator Jennifer Pek
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