Let’s start by talking about the decision to move ICE and iGB Affiliate to Barcelona next year. What were the primary reasons for deciding to leave the long-term home in London? Please share some insights into the decision-making process for the relocation. The actual process started a couple of years ago when we were asked by a number of stakeholders — including exhibitors, visitors and some of our friends in the trade media — to explore the possibilities of moving the shows and to establish what the appetite would be among other cities to host ICE and iGB Affiliate. After an initial scoping exercise, we formed an Advisory Panel of industry stakeholders to provide their insight and contributions and help guide the selection process. The competitive bid process was reduced to a shortlist of four candidate cities comprising of Barcelona, London, Madrid and Paris. This quartet of great European locations was subsequently reduced to two – London and Barcelona. In terms of the detail, the selection process included an evaluation of more than 30 variables, venue visits, city presentations and in-depth negotiations. It was conducted by an independent international agency with vast experience in the events and location search space. The process considered all aspects of attending, exhibiting at and organizing our events in addition to longer-term strategic factors impacting the development of both ICE and iGB Affiliate. It enabled us to identify the city that our customers believed to be best equipped to be our strategic partner and was able to host two world-class events which would meet the needs of businesses of all sizes and locations across every sector of the gaming community. What specific aspects of Barcelona’s bid stood out? The successful bid by Barcelona was notable for the scale of its world-class facilities, outstanding hospitality infrastructure, logistics, improved ROI for our customers and the ability to scale and grow both shows. Stuart Hunter Managing Director BARCELONA BOUND LAo nNdeown Ca nh dapi Gt eBr Af ofr I CE filiate CHARTING NEW HORIZONS GPWAtimes.org 48
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