Eye-catching LED Display to Transform Fira de Barcelona Gran Via's South Access for ISE 2024

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) is set to unveil a ground-breaking Welcome Screen at the South Access of Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue during its historic 20th edition, scheduled for 30 January – 2 February 2024. The 193m2 invisible LED display will become a permanent fixture for the venue, making its debut at ISE 2024, the first event to showcase its installation. Due to its impressive size and strategic location, the display promises to captivate attendees while also allowing the interior of the building to be visible through the content, creating a seamless amalgamation of technology and architecture.

Mike Blackman, Managing Director of Integrated Systems Events, expressed his excitement, stating: "As the world’s attention turns to Barcelona for ISE 2024, we are thrilled to showcase the very best of pro AV and digital signage with a stunning new entrance to welcome attendees from all over the world to our 20th-anniversary edition.”

Marc Serra, Venue Services & Infrastructure Director of Fira de Barcelona, remarked, “The installation of this transparent screen on the façade of our venue is a clear example of how hosting leading events in numerous industries has a major impact on the city and on our institution. It also illustrates Fira's ongoing quest for innovation, the use of new technologies, and excellence. With the new infrastructure, Fira once again sets itself apart as a leading institution that hosts the best events and has the best venues.”

The transparent LED display, based on the MUXWAVE M3 LED screen with a 3.9mm pixel pitch, offers flexibility to adapt to various surface geometries. SONO, entrusted with system design and installation, will seamlessly integrate more than 950 tiles of transparent screen into the glass façade of Fira de Barcelona at the South Access. Daniel Pérez Rubio, Sales Director of SONO reflected, “We are excited to work on this brilliant project for ISE 2024, our heritage in delivering experiences where light and sound are mixed with emotions in all types of events is perfect for this pivotal project for this special anniversary show.”

This ground-breaking installation demands a robust and flexible media server for stable and visually inspiring content delivery to the ISE audience over the four days. Ventuz and Realtime Department are closely engaged with the ISE 2024 team to ensure a seamless bridge between programming and on-site installation for the exhibition. 

Christoph Gockel, one of the Managing Directors of Realtime Department, shared, “Originally from the event sector, Realtime Department brings all kinds of impressive content to the stage and displays of this world. Whether visually stunning, sensory, kinetic, or interactive, permanent installations are now also part of the company’s portfolio. We have been a content partner of the supplier of the Muxwave, LANG AG, at ISE for 11 years and are delighted to be part of this project team, for what is probably the largest MUXWAVE installation in Europe. The effects that can be achieved with content on such a large glass surface of approximately 20m wide and 11m high are very exciting. Although the MUXWAVE is still a relatively new product, we have already been able to realise several projects with it. In combination with our own UNIQVUE Experience Framework (includes a content and rundown manager), we are perfectly positioned for this task.” 

The Ventuz real-time software brings two key features; the ability to play back huge amounts of visual data and live, interactive content that can be shown at any point during the four days of ISE. This flexibility allows switching between multiple pre-programmed content streams and real-time, live updates from the show, including social media feeds and QR codes for audience participation.

Ventuz brings 20 years of experience to Barcelona to support and drive the content on the South Access screen. Its strength in real-time, data driven graphics for experiential installations provides the show with proven stable playback for the week. A Ventuz Runtime dual server cluster will deliver the engaging visuals to the MUXWAVE LED wall, and the Ventuz Multi-GPU cluster will allow the content to be played out with fewer servers and reducing initial hardware costs. Mike Steinbrecher, Director of Global Sales for Ventuz, acknowledged, “It is an honour to work alongside ISE on such a game-changing project. Ventuz is excited to provide playback on the massive transparent Welcome LED wall, allowing Fira to bring immersive real-time stories to its visitors."

Fira de Barcelona, committed to sustainability, powers its facilities with 100% green energy from renewable sources, with 40% locally produced in wind farms, contributing to a greener and more sustainable event.