Margaret: World Gaming Week is about the wider experience surrounding ICE, but we have listened carefully to feedback about the length of the exhibition itself. For 2027, ICE remains a three-day show. Rather than adding another exhibition day, we are concentrating on helping people use those three days more effectively. Tere are also experiences that extend what people can do while they are in Barcelona. For example, our partnership with Matchroom will bring a live pool tournament to ICE, and we are working with Behind the Gloves on the charity boxing event. It is about making World Gaming Week memorable without losing sight of the fact that people primarily come to ICE to do business.
Time management is arguably one of the biggest challenges at an event of ICE's scale. How are you addressing that?
Margaret: One of the most consistent requests we receive is for more places to conduct meetings. People can end up leaving the venue and going to hotels or other locations simply because they cannot find suitable space. Which is why we are introducing Meet Me. Tere will be three dedicated meeting districts across the show, providing approximately 2,000 square metres of meeting space. Pass holders will receive additional benefits including fast-track access and entry to Hall 7 from 9.30am, allowing meetings to begin before the main exhibition opens.
Stuart: Te other important element is technology. Events are fundamentally about connections - some happen organically, some are carefully planned and others can be facilitated by the organiser. Meet Me allows us to introduce genuine AI-driven matchmaking. Attendees can be much more specific about who they want to meet and what they want to achieve, and the technology can help identify relevant connections. We are investing more than €1m in Meet Me, so it is a significant project for us. Te objective is straightforward: to improve the effectiveness of the time people spend at ICE.
Te World Gaming Council is another major change for 2027. What was missing from the traditional conference model?
Margaret: Te conference content at ICE has always been strong and provides significant value in identifying emerging trends and growth opportunities. However, the feedback we
received was that people also wanted more opportunity for genuine debate and discussion. People arrive at ICE with specific challenges and they want solutions. Listening to a presentation does not always provide those answers.
Te World Gaming Council creates a more interactive, outcome-driven environment where people can have deeper discussions, including closed-door conversations where appropriate. It will bring regulators, operators and other stakeholders together around some of the industry's biggest challenges, including the illegal market, reducing financial crime and safer gambling. We want people to leave those discussions with tangible ideas and potential solutions they can take back to their organisations.
You have been very public about acting on feedback from the first two Barcelona editions. What will visitors notice has changed as a direct result?
We have done a considerable amount of work around directing people to the appropriate entrances and improving the way visitors move into and around the venue. Meet Me will introduce fast-track access for pass holders, while we are also being much clearer about which entrances should be used for ICE and iGB Affiliate.
Margaret: Catering was one area where we received feedback, particularly because the weather made some of the outdoor facilities more difficult to access last year. We are introducing an additional catering facility that will make that easier. Access and congestion have also been important. We have done a considerable amount of work around directing people to the appropriate entrances and improving the way visitors move into and around the venue. Meet Me will introduce fast-track access for pass holders, while we are also being much clearer about which entrances should be used for ICE and iGB Affiliate.
Stuart: Tere are many improvements that may not necessarily make headlines but are extremely important to the experience. We analyse navigation and visitor movement, including heat mapping, to understand how different areas of
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