AES Vienna 2007 Wrap-up
The 122nd AES Pro Audio Expo & Convention: Lots of visitors and lots of activity

Vienna, May 2007: The 122nd AES Convention in Vienna closed on May 8th. Successful and marked by a strong upswing in the audio industry, a very interesting technical program, and an exhibition with many new exhibitors and visitors, the convention became the platform for renewing and expanding the AES convention series as the largest pro audio event in Europe!

Compared to the two previous conventions, that were well attended, this year's turnout of approximately 5,450 attendees at the exhibition and 800 full program participants shows that there is a strong interest in audio products and information. One particularly positive trend was that visitors spent more time at the convention itself, whereas the past year's events had been typified by shorter visits.

As expected, 15% of participants came from Eastern European countries this year. Thierry Bergmans, Exhibition Manager of the European AES Convention, explained how Vienna, the host city, affected the turnout: "Basically, a lot of our visitors came from the host country and neighboring countries. This year we saw the trend extend to Eastern European countries. After all, for these visitors, traveling to this convention was easier than ever."

The convention exceeded expectations for the numbers of future audio professionals in attendance: approximately 30% of the full-program visitors were students who went to the AES to exchange information and to network. Once again, these numbers show an increase compared to previous years and underscores AES's strategy to promote training and continued education to attract future pro audio professionals.

The Spotlights Series, a new AES initiative to provide exchanges of subject-specific information, was added to this year's convention lineup. Focusing on three hot topics in the industry (Broadcasting, Live Sound and Archiving), the series offered a large array of individual events, featuring presentations, workshops, technical tours, exhibitor seminars, and application seminars. This comprehensive approach made it possible to learn about the subjects from a number of different perspectives, which visitors found very helpful.

The Application Seminars were introduced at last year's Paris convention. These seminars feature presentations on practical areas of the pro audio field, and they were an integral part of the Vienna convention as well. Visitors and exhibitors were very excited about the large presentation area that was reserved for the Application Seminars in one of the two convention halls. In this way, the Application Seminars once again became the central forum for all attendees and a logical extension of the regular convention program. "We really support this trend towards more activity in the exhibition area," said Roger Furness, echoing the overall impression of convention attendees.

After visiting many regions of Europe in the last few years, including such host cities as Berlin in the Northeast, Barcelona in the South, Paris in the West, and Vienna in the East, the European AES-Convention will return to one of the most popular cities and successful convention locations in Western Europe in 2008: Amsterdam. Save the date for the next convention!

The 124th AES Pro Audio Expo & Convention runs from May 17-20, 2008 at the RAI in Amsterdam.