MUMBAI: The latest edition of the PALM Expo at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, was once again a resounding success. Celebrating 18 consecutive years, PALM Expo, India continues to exemplify the unrivalled energy of the global pro sound and light industry.

This year’s edition boasted the highest attendance and participation ever as a staggering 23,436 unique visitors, from across the country made their way to the venue from 31May - 2 June 2018, proving that the Pro AV and lighting industry in India is poised for further expansion in the upcoming year.

Day one clocked 9,197 visitors hosted by 2,500 exhibitor badges - a total of 11,697 attendees. Day two registered 9,773 unique visitors and a record footfall of 12,765, while day three clocked 4,466 unique visitors. Over the three days of the show unique visitor numbers demonstrated an increase of 20 per cent from the last year. This edition of the PALM witnessed a significant increase in the share of trade visitors from B and C tier towns of India, with an increase in buyers from rest of India accounting for nearly 14 per cent.

“PALM was a tremendously successful event with the highest figures for exhibitors and visitors,” said Manish Gandhi director & COO of ABEC Exhibitions & Conferences Pvt. Ltd.

The total exhibition area across the eight halls increased by 19.23 per cent since 2017 and the demand for new products was reflected by the busy exhibit halls, with Hall 1 being demarcated for the sound manufacturers and distributors, and Hall 5 for the lighting companies.

“Reputed brands globally define PALM as a top destination to test product performance in a highly advanced market place adopting latest technology and features. PALM leads in establishing new product viability in guaranteed exposure to probably the largest community of highly experienced professionals in pro audio and AV anywhere in the world evaluating new product purchase. We deliver business at the show year on year,” said Anil Chopra director PALM Expo 2018.

“One could witness the surge in the pro sound and light industry at the show, as well as the range of products on exhibit, which was dramatically higher this year,” said Ramesh Chetwani exhibition director PALM Expo 2018.

The mesmerizing exhibit and display in both the halls, was complemented by a tremendous business environment, courtesy a strict no-sound policy enforced in both halls by the organisers. The sound control on the show floor was one of the major highlights of the expo and was well appreciated by global media and exhibitors as well.

A broad spectrum of products on display on the exhibit floors and the positive echo from the exhibitors and visitors alike, indicated that the international business atmosphere of PALM expo, India makes it a must-attend sourcing and networking platform.

Celebrating eight consecutive years at PALM Expo, The PALM DJ Championship has come a long way since it first started and has cemented its place at the heart of DJ culture in India, providing equal opportunity to talented DJs from across the country. The PALM DJ Championship 2018 Finale was a tremendous success witnessing 10 talented DJs from various Indian cities compete for the grand title and prizes. Generous prize partners – Reloop, Akai, Alesis, Ali Merchant, MX, Numark, Roland and TSM in association with Point Blank, put up DJ consoles, mixers, headphones, synths, DJ Courses and more such prizes to be shared between the top 10.

Hailing from Mumbai, DJ Braden beat the odds to triumph over some of the strongest competition and come out on top, winning the coveted PALM DJ Championship title 2018. DJ Altrax from Surat, secured his spot in the top three winning the first-runner up position followed by DJ Shubham from Mumbai who came a close third.

For more info log on to: http://palmexpo.in/About_DJChampionship.aspx

Honouring Excellence in Sound Recording and Audio Production, the 12th consecutive India Recording Arts Academy Awards (IRAA) marked a grand celebration attended by stalwarts of the Indian Music Industry. What began as a small gathering, 12 years ago, to honour the relatively unrecognized sound engineering talent in the country became a tremendous success this year, as the awards platform achieved critical attention from the fraternity, many of whom were present in strength at the awards ceremony that took place in Hall 4 of the BEC, Mumbai on 2 June 2018. A R Rahman, India’s most celebrated Indian composer, singer-songwriter, and music producer presented the posthumous award for Life Time Achievement in Sound Recording to his lifelong sound engineer H. Sridhar. The award was accepted by H. Sridhar’s son, Vinay Sridhar. Also motivating the other winners of the evening by presenting them with their well-earned trophies was Indian playback singer – Sonu Nigam, music composer duo Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa and legendary Indian percussionist – Sivamani.

For complete list of winners log on to: http://iraa.in/Winner.aspx#Winners

Honouring and celebrating excellence and achievements in the field of Stage, Sound and Light, was the 8th consecutive PALM Sound & Light Awards. Major International brands vying for the PALM Sound and Light Award and top live sound professionals who have done exceptional work in 2017-2018 were awarded for their skill and professional and manufacturing excellence.

For complete list of winners visit: http://palmexpo.in/sound_and_light_award_winners.aspx

The PALM Live Arena, which showcased a mesmerizing display of stage technology and sound, was once again a tremendous success with buyers thronging the arena on all three days of the show.

With the aim of delivering Business education and an interactive exchange of ideas and knowledge, the two parallel Conference Programmes at the PALM Expo, namely PALM Conference & Seminar programme and PALM Soundscape programme were more varied and wide-ranging than ever before.

The PALM Conference and Seminar Programme, which took place in the International Lounge of Hall 1, covered three dedicated themes – Stage Sound & Light, Audiovisual and Music Production, across the three days of the show and boasted of expert speakers. Thousands of attendees experienced workshops, panel discussions and seminars by industry leading professionals, focused on topics such as Measuring And Aligning Subwoofers, Using Dante For Live Sound Events, Acoustics In Auditorium Design; Dolby Atmos Mixing - Concepts And Techniques, among others.

For complete conference schedule visit: http://palmexpo.in/conference-agenda-2018.aspx

The PALM Soundscape on the other hand covered topics that ranged from big stage sound, lights and visuals, festival and tours, royalties, artiste management, Repertoire & Publishing to Denon workshops and discussions on psy-trance.

For more info log on to: http://palmexpo.in/soundscape-agenda-2018.aspx

"Delegate response has been entirely gratifying, both in numbers and the anxious Q & A sessions from enthused professionals. I assume the array of highly acclaimed speakers must have been delighted at engaging such critical audiences filling the conference halls. Smashing I’d say," said Smita Rai project head – features & marketing.

The Live Demo Qubes featured brands like Bose, Electrovoice, LAX, RCF and DB technologies.

For more info log on to: http://palmexpo.in/PALM_DQ.aspx

PALM Expo 2018 introduced the compact indoor line array demo at the show this year. This was the first time that an indoor line array demo was oganised anywhere in the world. With the guidance of famed Electro-Acoustic consultant – Milind Raorane, this feature achieved the highest level of acoustic control and monitoring.

For more info on the schedule log on to: http://palmexpo.in/docs/INDOOR-LINE-ARRAY-2018.pdf