SHOWTECH 2011 Final Report

SHOWTECH emphasises its role as the world forum for the stage - Marked increase in number of international trade visitors

 

Berlin. From the Bolshoi Theatre to stage technicians from Melbourne, from the Norwegian National Theatre to Korea to the USA: for three days, SHOWTECH became the international stage for the stages of the world, thus impressively emphasising its role as the world’s most important forum for the stage. Significant growth in the number of international trade visitors, a noticeable increase in the willingness to invest and the qualified dialogue between experts and colleagues from all over the world were the characteristics of this year’s SHOWTECH.

“SHOWTECH has further consolidated its position as the leading international meeting place for the industries it serves,” said Hans-Joachim Erbel, Managing Director of SHOWTECH organiser Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH.

Visitor numbers reach level of previous record – more international visitors
With a total of 7,520 visitors, SHOWTECH remained only just below its previous record (7, 813 in 2009). The trade show recorded a noticeable increase in visitors from abroad, with the share of international trade show visitors going up five percent to currently 32 percent. Here, the biggest growth was in the number of visitors from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. A total of 322 exhibitors presented the latest trends and innovations in stage and event technology at this year’s SHOWTECH. “This year’s trade show demonstrated that the industry has left the crisis behind for good and is looking forward with realistic optimism,” said SHOWTECH Event Director Markus Jessberger at the close of the trade show.

Economic climate noticeably recovered
This is emphasised by the representative business survey regularly conducted at SHOWTECH. Although the skies above Berlin were not yet entirely cloudless, the economic mood in the industry has brightened noticeably. The business barometer is clearly pointing upwards. 40 percent of the theatres and event companies interviewed expect a positive development both in the overall economic climate and their own business situation. At the previous SHOWTECH, impressed by the impact of the global financial and economic crisis, only 18 percent had held this view. On the other hand, only 19 percent of the theatres and companies polled in the survey expect developments in the industry to stagnate. Two years ago, this number was still 41 percent. An assessment which is supported by the SHOWTECH exhibitors. According to the results of the survey, 56 percent of them expect a “very good” or “good” medium-term development, another 19 percent consider the prospects at least “satisfactory”.

Willingness to invest on the rise again
A trend that is also reflected in the significant increase in the willingness to invest. While two years ago, a mere eleven percent of those surveyed were planning investments exceeding 200,000 euro, this number is currently growing significantly. More than 28 percent of theatres and companies presently plan investments of more than 200,000 euro, primarily for projects and acquisitions in stage technology, lighting and projection technology and equipment. ­

Strong echo to conferences, conventions and forums
Qualified expert exchange among colleagues – that is what SHOWTECH stands for more than any other event worldwide. This was also demonstrated during the 15th edition of the trade show and conference. The topics of the DTHG conference, the symposia and the open forums all met with a strong echo. The spectrum of topics ranged from lighting technology to energy efficiency and the latest radio microphone technology to the Safety Action Stage featuring live demonstrations to the Costume-makers’ Symposium which was organised for the third time by the Gesell­schaft für Theaterkostümschaffende and attracted more than 300 participants.

Premiere: WIZARD for the most creative stage technology used in an entire production
This prize for the most creative stage technology in theatres and events, presented for the first time, was awarded during SHOWTECH NIGHT in a ceremony attended by 1,000 guests. A total of 27 well-known theatres and event agencies had applied for the prize offered by DTHG and SHOWTECH. Nine of these had been nominated in the run-up to SHOWTECH.

The Hessische Staatstheater Wiesbaden went on record as the first WIZARD winner with its stage set for “The Barber of Seville“. For this production, the historic front facade of the auditorium was covered and a smaller-scale reproduction of the proscenium arch installed. This “false” arch can be tilted both to the front over the orchestra pit and the stalls and towards the rear onto the stage. DTHG president Karl-Heinz Mittelstädt as the spokesman for the Jury commented: “In an outstanding manner, the production by director and set designer Michiel Dijkema from the Netherlands embodies the theatrical understanding between the audience and the performers, as well as the supporting technical wizardry, and absolutely deserved to be awarded the first prize.“ The second and third places went to Bayerische Staatsoper München for the stage technology for its current production of Fidelio and to Theater Kampnagel Hamburg for the stage technology of the pop opera “Krrk-krrk – Eine Kammerjäger-Oper”.

The next SHOWTECH will take place from 18 to 20 June 2013 in Berlin.

Up-to-date photo material as well as detailed information about the winners of the Product Award which had been presented on the first day of the trade show can be found on www.showtech.de

 

 

Exhibitors’ comments:

“We have enjoyed to coming to SHOWTECH for years. This year, we had a remarkably large number of international visitors, especially from Russia and Asia, which is unusual. The international participation in the trade show seems to be growing. An asset for our business is the fact that, almost without exception, we meet decision-makers from the segments of stage technology, as well as the radio, television and event industry.” Désirée Müller, Marketing and Communication, Salzbrenner Stagetec GmbH

“After three days, Lightpower reports very positive results of SHOWTECH in Berlin. Establishing a theatre division as part of the further intensification of our sales activities has paid off. The lively feedback from the theatre market in Berlin once again confirmed that our decision to take this logical step was a good one. We are especially pleased with the strong international interest in SHOWTECH, which was reflected particularly regarding the MA Lighting, Rainbow Colour Changers and Major brands.”
Michael Althaus, Managing Director, Lightpower GmbH

“Our trade show presentation was great – there is probably no better way of launching a product. This is our first time at SHOWTECH as an exhibitor. It was made possible by the BMWI funding for young companies. Winning the SHOWTECH Product Award on top of that is a marvellous encouragement for us. Of course, we can put the award to great promotional use. At our stand, we had visitors from international event industry – fantastic. I’ll just say: Saudi Arabia, Chile, Korea, all of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. We’ll be back in two years.“
Holger Walter, festAKT

“Presenting ourselves at SHOWTECH makes great sense for us – especially since we have a branch in Berlin and can make good use of the trade show to present ourselves to our customers. For a trade show of this size, a big advantage of SHOWTECH is its international character. Many customers came and even asked if we speak German. In the theatre and opera core segment the trade show is very strong – but its opening up to other segments such as the event industry is noticeable. That fits in well with the market which has recovered especially in that segment: large companies are now budgeting again for big product presentations and corporate events.”
Christoph Wegener, Branch Manager, Nüssli Deutschland GmbH

“SHOWTECH is and will remain the leading trade show in the theatre and opera segment. It is where you meet the international ‘Who’s Who’ of the industry. A promotional presentation here is very effective. We saved a special product premiere especially for this trade show, for instance – scheduling practically no other marketing activities for that product. The trade show presentation of the product has already proved a very good basis for communicating the product to the market. Of course we’ll come back to Berlin.”
Dirk Mettler, Managing Director, 2M Theater und Veranstaltungstechnik GmbH

“The presentation here is our company’s biggest trade show presentation – for good reason. The quality of discussions is very high at SHOWTECH, and traditionally visitors from all over Europe are represented at this show in very large numbers. Gerriets has been coming to SHOWTECH since its very start and will continue to do so.”
Andreas Gause, Sales and Marketing Manager, Gerriets GmbH

“Our stand was crowded right from day one, visitor quality was very good and the response to our products was fantastic – what more do you want? The market’s interest in energy-efficient LED products, in particular, is very high.”
Rosi Marx, Marketing, European P&A Manager ETC Electronic Theatre Controls GmbH

“We are happy: SHOWTECH offers an audience with a beautiful mix. We had customers mostly from the theatre, television and museum segments. Interestingly enough, however, visitors also came from the simulation, interactive media segments who we would rather have expected at other trade shows. We are very proud at winning the Product Award – we had a lot of enquiries for the product, the trade show gave it a real boost.”
Jan Hüwel, General Manager, coolux Media Systems

“Our conclusion after the trade show: a lively stream of visitors, a surprising and gratifying international character. We had talks with potential customers from all over Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and especially Russia. I came to SHOWTECH for the first time in 2001 and a lot has changed since that time. What I particularly like is the fact that the trade show always strives to explore new avenues. A special guided tour for visitors from the museum segment, for instance, is a very good idea which is worth following up.”
Jörg Windhorst, Sales Manager, Phonak Communications AG

 


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