What happens when three separate tradeshows (Event Live Expo with Club + Venue Design, AEG Expo, and Pollstar Live!) are co-located in one spot? The answer is simple: a larger Event Live Expo! Billed as “The Trade Show for Live Event Production & Management,” this relatively new expo showcases all of the aspects of live events ranging from lighting, audio, video, and staging, to labor, trucking, and ticket agents. Held in downtown Los Angeles, CA, this is year number two for the show, which is supported by AEG and Pollstar Live! I wanted to see for myself what the buzz was all about.
The entire show was staged in Hall B at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The majority of the tradeshow floor was comprised of 10’x10’ and 20’x20’ booths showcasing every aspect of live events including Cirque du Soleil, Philips Vari-Lite, Aggreko, and Mega-Stage, as well as larger freestanding booths from companies like Elation Professional, Robe, AEG, Modern Line Furniture, CAT Rental Power and Impact Video.
I noticed that the Philips Vari-Lite booth drew some heavy hitters, with LDs and project managers stopping by to visit with Bob Schacherl while the VLX LED wash quietly did its thing in the background. Also impressive: the Acclaim Interactive Cat Walk Panel at Elation’s booth. It’s a touch-sensitive LED panel that can be built into floors, bars and walls to encourage customers to interact with the scenery.
A growing portion of the event industry is software and mobile device-compatible apps. Event Live Expo exhibitors in this area included Xomo Digital, IntelliEvent Lightning, Flex Rental Solutions and EventBrite. There was even a tour bus on the show floor, courtesy of Celebrity Coaches, completing the picture of everything it takes to produce a live event.
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