INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: STUART HUNTER
Interview with the ICE man Stuart Hunter ExCeL London. At 100,000m2 , it was the biggest
gambling show on record until this year. Visitors to ICE and iGB Affi liate 2025 were presented with 120,000m2
course of the next fi ve editions our target is to occupy up to 200,000m2
of 100,000; growth that simply would not be possible in London.
With the dust still settling after the fi rst ICE and iGB Affi liate events to be held in Barcelona last month, GIO’s editor, Neil Mead speaks to the man responsible for Clarion Gaming’s portfolio and fl agship ICE exhibition, Stuart Hunter, to gain insight into the decision to move the show to its new home and the feedback he’s received from both exhibitors and visitors.
What were the main reasons behind the bold decision to move ICE to Barcelona this year and do you intend to keep ICE there for the foreseeable future?
For a number of years exhibitors and some sections of the trade media had been asking us to tentatively explore the opportunities to relocate from London to another city on mainland Europe. Due to the complexity of the undertaking, we employed a specialist agency in January 2023 to help us identify new locations. We started with a list of thirty potential cities and venues that we evaluated based on a series of metrics that were drawn-up in partnership with our exhibitors. This was subsequently reduced to a short list of four comprising Barcelona, London, Madrid and Paris and then to the fi nal two of London and Barcelona – with our advisory board of exhibitors opting for Barcelona.
Essentially the Fira Gran Via Barcelona, gives us the opportunity to scale and to meet the needs of our exhibitors who want more space and who use ICE to showcase their brands. ICE and iGB Affi liate 2024 occupied every square millimetre of exhibition and meeting space at
8 FEBRUARY 2025 GIO
What feedback have you received from exhibitors and visitors so far and is there anything that could be improved? At the time of writing, we are in the process of undertaking all of the forensic checks and data interrogations. However, I can confi rm that the combined attendance for both shows will set a new world attendance record for any gambling event.
We will very shortly begin comprehensive company-wide debriefs which will be followed by exhibitor and visitor experience surveys conducted by a specialist independent external agency. We do this after every event that we stage but understanding in detail the response to the relocation makes these surveys even more signifi cant.
In terms of improvements our primary aim is to identify those aspects of the exhibitor and visitor experience which we could have delivered more effectively and where there’s room for improvement. Anecdotally, all of the feedback published across every media channel and the comments that have been sent direct to me have been hugely positive.
of innovation. Ultimately over the and attract an audience
The spectacle that attendees experienced at ICE and iGB Affiliate Barcelona was the result of listening to and acting on what our customers want
I believe the experience the industry enjoyed in Barcelona and the window it provided on the industry was a result of a number of factors. Our world class exhibitors and the contractors they employed delivered an unbelievable representation of the industry, the Clarion Gaming team showed why they are the very best in the business working seamlessly with their peers at the Fira Gran Via Barcelona, the marketing and creative campaign resonated with our stakeholder communities and fi nally our host city demonstrated why it is such a popular international destination.
What do you think were the main highlights of the show?
I’m probably too close to the show to provide a balanced feedback. My personal highlights were seeing the shows looking so spectacular,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
