First-timer's guide · Sep 11–14, 2026 · Amsterdam
Working IBC 2026 for the first time.
1,500 exhibitors, 57,000 attendees, and a rhythm you only learn by working it. Here's what matters — for the booth side and the buying side — plus the Amsterdam logistics nobody puts in the brochure.
If you're exhibiting
New exhibitor tips
RAI is a hall-number culture
IBC visitors navigate by hall and stand number and plan routes days in advance. Your stand number belongs in every pre-show email, signature and social post — "come find us" does not work in a venue this size.
Your buyer is technical and time-poor
Broadcasters, streamers, production houses and systems integrators come with specific problems. Staff the stand with people who can answer integration questions on the spot; a sales-only team loses the conversation to the next stand.
Demos beat brochures, and everyone knows it
IBC is a working-demo show. Budget for reliable connectivity and a demo that survives a noisy hall — a broken demo at IBC is worse than no demo, because the whole floor is running theirs.
Four days is long enough to lose the thread
Rotate staff and consolidate captured leads nightly. The conversations that matter here often continue across multiple days with different people from the same buyer — keep one record per company, not per conversation.
If you're visiting or buying
New visitor tips
Register in advance — it opens months ahead
IBC opens registration well before the show. Advance registration is the cheaper and faster route, and badge collection at the RAI during peak arrival is the queue you want to avoid.
Amsterdam sells out around IBC
The city fills for the show, and prices reflect it. Book accommodation as soon as your attendance is confirmed — this is not a fair where late booking gets you a room near the venue.
The conference and the exhibition are different products
IBC runs a substantial conference programme alongside the show floor. Decide which you came for before you build your schedule; trying to do both properly across four days is how people end up doing neither.
Capture the integration detail, not the logo
What matters after IBC is which formats, standards and interfaces a product actually supports. Photograph the spec panel with the stand number and voice-note the answer to your specific integration question.
How the days flow
- —Day 1: the busiest floor and the biggest announcements — technology launches land here.
- —Days 2–3: the working days; deep technical meetings, demos and the core of the conference programme.
- —Final day: quieter halls, best access to senior engineers and product leads, and the day pricing conversations happen.
Amsterdam logistics
Getting there
RAI Amsterdam, in the south of the city. Direct train from Schiphol to Amsterdam RAI takes about 15 minutes, and tram 4 runs from the centre — one of the easier major venues in Europe to reach.
Where to stay
Amsterdam Zuid and the RAI area save commute time; the centre is a 15-minute tram ride and better for evenings. Both fill early during IBC week.
Getting around
The city is compact and cyclable, and the tram network is straightforward. Taxis during show closing hours are slow — the tram is usually faster.
The tip every guide agrees on
Capture at the booth. Never "the stack for later."
Whichever side of the aisle you work at IBC 2026, DaGaMa turns photos of cards, badges, and products into a structured Google Sheet you own — in WhatsApp, Telegram, or WeChat. Free for your first 24 hours.
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