PL+S 2023 Press Conference: Restart for the Live Events Industry

With an online press conference held on Thursday, March 23, Messe Frankfurt introduced the edition of Prolight + Sound to be held in Frankfurt from April 25 to 28, 2023

Europe’s most important event dedicated to the world of Lighting, Audio and Live events is about to celebrate a key edition in its history. Yes, because the 2023 edition is expected to be the edition of the real restart of an industry, that of events open to the public, even large ones, which more than any other has inevitably suffered during the pandemic. Well led by Messe Frankfurt Marketing Director Dominique Ewert and enlivened by Kerstin Horaczek (Vice President Technology Shows, Messe Frankfurt), Mira Wölfel (Director of Prolight + Sound), Randell Greenlee (Head of Commerce and International Affairs at VPLT, the German Entertainment Technology Association) and Ilona Jarabek (President and of the European Association of Event Centers – EVVC), the press conference first took stock of the main new features of the 2023 edition, as well as the educational opportunities it will offer and the valuable international networking that has always been associated with an event like Prolight + Sound.
The key-concepts of the 2023 edition will therefore be the push for the restart of the Live sector (the fair aims at confirming itself as the European leader for the Entertainment Technology sector), the focus on Green issues and gender equality (the “Women in Lighting” project, introduced during the conference by a nice video presentation, is interesting) and the determined investment on new generations and young talents both in Audio and Lighting and, more generally, in high-level Entertainment. In this regard, we also point out the Future Talents Day that will take place on April 28, dedicated to deepening career opportunities in the industry.

Other events include the Pro Audio College, a special training program for live and studio audio engineers focusing on immersive audio, psychoacoustics and sound in acoustically challenging environments. The Performance + Production Hub, launched last year, will be further developed with an Experience Zone and various workshops, while the Vintage Concert Audio Show in Hall 11.0 will trace the history of audio and PA systems over the past 60 years. There will be no shortage of insights into the Lighting world, particularly in the Main Stage in Hall 11.0 with talks by representatives of trade associations and the Theatre + Light Stage in Hall 12, where industry trends will be presented.

With exhibitors coming from as many as 32 countries around the world, including Asia, and with the aforementioned premises, the 2023 edition of PL+S will be, according to Kerstin Horaczek, “very important and very promising. There are more than positive signs for Audio and Entertainment technology, after the pandemic years, with the restarting of live events a bit all over the world and the willingness to get together again and resume interrupted talks. The event promises not only to have a strong economic-cultural importance”- concluded Ms. Horaczek-“but also to be an interconnection point for professionals and fans from all over the world. Indeed, let us not forget that Prolight + Sound is also about excitement and fun!”

In this regard, it is undoubtedly interesting the idea of proposing, at the opening and closing of each day of the event, moments of sociability and refreshment also open to families and friends, in order to express all the openness and welcome of an event that, beyond its technical and commercial connotations, is also and above all a place of discovery and emotional impact with technologies that affect, potentially, everyone.Finally, fair director Mira Wölfel dedicated a few words to the importance of the location: “Frankfurt, in the heart of Europe, remains a key venue for Prolight + Sound, it expresses astonishingly our intention to confirm ourselves as the reference fair for the Entertainment Technology sector.”
PL+S, in Frankfurt April 25-28, 2023: it’s back face-to-face, edition not to be missed!