ICE will move to Barcelona from 2025, ending the show’s long stay in London.
By Matthew Nicholson
One of the biggest industry shows, ICE London, will no longer take place in the UK capital from 2025.
The show’s organiser, Clarion Gaming, revealed that it was considering moving the show to either Paris, Madrid or Barcelona – while keeping the show in London was also an option.
However, Barcelona has won out, with ICE moving to the Catalan Capital in 2025 – where the industry will now congregate to showcase new products and meet other brands and companies over a three-day period.
Furthermore, the iGB Affiliate show will also move with ICE to Barcelona.
The show will move to the Fira de Barcelona from the 20-22 January, with iGB following on 21-22 January.
As part of the announcement, Clarion Gaming stated that: “Dating back to 2021 a number of exhibitors as well as B2B media asked us to look at what alternative venues could offer.”
It also revealed that the move was ‘not a unanimous decision’ by the represented organisations, with five voting for London and one remaining neutral.
“We wouldn’t be having these conversations with the customers if they weren’t saying we need to look at alternatives to London” – Alex Pratt
However, the Barcelona bid was a strong one and Clarion Gaming noted this in its remarks: “ICE and iGB Affiliate will be the only major events taking place in Barcelona over the January dateline, enabling us to create an exclusive venue and city experience for exhibitors and attendees alike.
“Barcelona is the host city that our customers believe is best equipped to be our strategic partner for the future.”
During an exclusive interview with Gambling Insider earlier this year, Alex Pratt, Group Managing Director at Clarion Gaming, said of any potential move: “There’s a massive journey ahead, with a lot of work involved.
“I think people can underestimate how much work is involved in moving an event of this scale – but the decision will largely come from our customer base. We wouldn’t be having these conversations with the customers if they weren’t saying we need to look at alternatives to London because of a whole variety of different reasons. And if it turns out that, actually, an alternative city is the right place, we’ll go there.”
Meanwhile, iGB Live has announced that it is moving to London from Amsterdam – no doubt a decision taken with Clarion’s decision to move ICE.
https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/21999/breaking-news-ice-to-move-to-barcelona-from-2025
