The Power of Infinity
The power of infinity; theme of the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition 2024
Fresh from returning from Guangzhou where I attended the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE), I can now compare the 3 major events that Messe Frankfurt organised in the first half of 2024. I first attended Light Middle East in Dubai in January, subsequently Light and Building in Frankfurt in March and now GILE in Guangzhou.
Dubai with is smaller and intimate size has long focussed on delivering know how through talks, workshops and events, with the manufacturers presence nearly being secondary. Frankfurt is generally seen as the place where new innovations are being shared, the mother of all lighting fairs, but where knowledge sharing through talks (Design Plaza) also found its way this year.
But surprisingly GILE with its 260,000 m2, is in surface and number of exhibitors and visitors even bigger than L+B in Frankfurt! Hard to believe, but once you visit the fair you will appreciate the immensity of it. China is often underestimated as a serious player, but with more than 90% of the worlds LED manufacturers located in China and an Asian market that represents about half the worlds population with countries like India, Indonesia and of course China, it starts to make sense. There are hundreds of lighting design practices in China, some with hundreds, some even more than thousand staff!! Yes, talking about scale!
China has generally been regarded as a country of copycats, but times have changed! Many Chinese companies are now leading in innovation, have improved their quality and optical performances dramatically to be at the top of the game! While some brand names may sound strange, many of the products that I saw on display looked impressive! They also seemed to have skipped the IoT step all together, now focussing on the latest trend and buzz word…AIoT…yes Artificial Intelligence driven IoT! Light fittings with integrated sensors measuring the material finishes in front of the light and adapting the colour temperature to fit…
GILE is also slowly moving away from being just a trade show. Yes, you can find your typical components and peripheral lighting parts and equipment stands, but the quality of the leading manufacturers’ booths and the integration of many knowledge sharing arena’s throughout the halls contribute to a far more interesting environment where you actually can learn something!
This brings me to the theme of this year’s fair, the Power of Infinity, cleverly conceived by the brain behind all the programs, Scarlet Mak! Playing on the infinite possibilities that today’s LED technology offer, even more now with the integration of AI, across all applications, this year’s theme really embraces and reflects where we are going. We live in a lighting world with the power of infinite opportunities!
