LDI Attracted More Than 12,000 To 2023 Show; No Post-Show Report Yet On Conjoined DSE

December 20, 2023 by Dave Haynes

The live events company that jointly puts on both Live Design International (LDI) and Digital Signage Experience (DSE) has pushed out a wrap-up press release about the main event and its positive growth, but the piece doesn’t get into any detail on the much smaller DSE show.

Questex says LDI pulled more than 12,000 attendees, and registrations for its conference and training courses were up by 23% compared to last year. That side of the show had 279 exhibitors. A year ago, LDI reported 10,000+ attendees.

“This year’s LDI was a landmark event for us,” says Marian Sandberg, VP and market leader for LDI, Live Design, and DSE. “We saw incredible support from our exhibitors and attendees, showing that LDI is on a major growth path for 2024 and beyond, especially seeing record numbers of attendees interested in conference and training sessions. Our re-sign for next year has also been a resounding success, with the show floor more than half booked onsite, showing a high-level of confidence in our ability to bring qualified buyers and specifiers to exhibitors and sponsors. We are so grateful to our customers for their support and look forward to next year.”

The press release also references how the two shows were connected by an LED light bar tunnel that bridged the LDI and DSE experiences.

Questex told me earlier this week that it’s “working on a post-show report” specific to DSE.  Last year, the show reported 3,500 registrants.

The relatively small scale of the DSE hall (less than 60 exhibitors) and comments from industry folks – both exhibitors and attendees – had me asking in writing if there would be a DSE 2024. But Questex says it will indeed be back, with LDI taking place Sunday through Tuesday, Dec. 8-10, 2024, at the West Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center. DSE will be Dec. 7-10 (pre-show events & conference Dec. 7-8, exhibits Dec. 9-10).

The two shows will again be co-located, presumably with a dividing wall and portal to transit between the two. The wall is necessary because LDI is sensory-overlead-central, with all the visual razzle-dazzle short of pyro that gets used for concerts and other live events. The lights are low, the music is up and there is machine-made fog hanging in the air.

Folding that divider wall would likely mean putting digital signage stands in the middle or edge of all that, which would be challenging in numerous ways – like trying to demo a software UX in a nightclub.

The shows’ timing for 2024 puts it in the middle of the 10-day National Finals Rodeo, so there will be lots of big hats and giant buckles in hotel lobbies and casino floors. If you are wondering, the Formula One race that caused traffic chaos on or near the strip a few weeks ago will have come and gone two weeks earlier than LDI/DSE 2024,  so the disruptions from that should be minimal.