Warsaw Audio Show 2024

As I leisurely strolled through the lobby of Warsaw’s Radisson Blu Sobieski two mornings before the start of Audio Show 2024, it seemed impossible that, shortly after I awoke on October 24, truckloads of gear and audio show personnel would descend on the hotel. What now was a very quiet lobby and restaurant—I rarely rode the elevator with anyone else in it—would soon be packed with distributors, dealers, company heads, press, and visitors.

Did I say “packed?” The real fun will take place October 25–27, when hallways feel at least as busy as at Munich High End. This is, after all, Europe’s second largest audio show, with 174 exhibit rooms and approximately 50 booths. That’s one more exhibit room and three more booths than last year.

According to show owner Adam Mokrzycki, whose last name I will not attempt to pronounce out of the deepest respect, 2023’s show drew 13,700 unique visitors. With the worst of the pandemic one year further behind us, don’t be surprised if this year’s attendance figures are significantly higher. Which will be loads of fun. As someone who seems to be getting shorter every year, just seeing what lies beyond the sea of tall people in front of me will be a major accomplishment.

Exhibit space is divided between eight floors of the Radisson, eight large choice exhibit spaces in the Golden Tulip Hotel (which is over the rail tracks and across the street), and a ton of exhibits on two floors of huge 58,500-seat PGE Narodowy Stadium some distance away. The latter, which opened in time for Euro 2012, holds two floors of exhibits in both enclosed exhibition rooms (many with windows that look onto the stadium itself) and vast open spaces. A look at the room maps only gives you a teeny taste of the extremely large number of brands on display.

My coverage plan is simple. Start in the Stadium, and spend Saturday and Sunday closer to “home.” Each day, I’ll try to provide one or two blogs, often spotlighting Polish companies that have a presence in the United States. More complete coverage in the form of a feature will follow once I return home and make headway on my next product review and recording reviews. Hey, the world is a safer place because shows like this keep people like me off the streets.

More to come . . .