GILE Guangzhou 2024
When infinity takes power
Let's be honest, we were a little skeptical about the figures announced by the organizers of the GILE trade show which was held from June 9 to 12 in the megacity of Guangzhou, one of the beating hearts of Chinese industry. We were all the more so since the press and the media keep telling us about an unprecedented economic crisis against the backdrop of the Covid exit, colossal difficulties in the construction industry and consequently in housing. At the end of our visit to the park of the gigantic Pazhou complex, we have to admit that we were disappointed given the results which exceeded all the organizers' expectations.
Indeed, what could be more telling than figures to silence the Cassandras, and these are truly astounding. Thus, the show, which was held simultaneously with the GEBT, acronym for Guangzhou Electrical Building Technology, whose typology of the offer is easily imagined, totally complementary with the GILE, not less than 208,992 visitors came from 150 countries and regions came to discover the new products and innovations of some 3,383 exhibitors originating from 20 countries, all on a surface of 260 000 m2 spread over some 26 halls. This is to say that it would have taken time for someone who wanted to explore the entire show. Fortunately, this was not the goal of buyers and professionals, as the sectors were so wide-ranging. In reality, none of them had this goal. The lighting industry in China is a major economic activity. It allows us to offer everything that can be created and manufactured in a very dynamic environment for all the reasons that everyone knows or can guess. Any source of light is nowadays a major subject that involves an incalculable number of players. This involves what allows us to live in the comfort of our homes, but it is invited into many sectors ranging from public lighting, security, to well-being and health. It is also the subject of major eco-responsible issues, which integrate global regulatory issues due to the energy transition that has become a major priority. Consequently, the imperatives related to the reduction of consumption and production of electricity are found, a sensitive subject if there ever was one in our time when resources must be optimized to the maximum. This is to say that the invention of Mr. Thomas Edison is at the center of so many challenges to be met, and these are today, of an extraordinary complexity. Not to mention the administrative obligations of all kinds put in place by all the states and governments of the planet.
Gile Guangzhou
Gallery
Technology Race
But this observation has generated a phenomenon that continues to grow insanely, it is the race towards the optimization of all forms of lighting via the advent and rise in power of cutting-edge technologies, which are experiencing endless progress for the greatest happiness of the consumer who discovers the thousand and one virtues of the possibilities offered by the industrialists and manufacturers of the sector launched in a race whose limits no one knows. This is also why the teams of Messe Frankfurt at the helm of the event chose a slogan that could not be more appropriate to illustrate what this show was all about. “The power of infinity” was the unifying theme of the GILE trade show (acronym of Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition, for those who are still unaware of its meaning). And it is frankly this feeling that invades the observer at the end of the visit to this 2024 edition. However, there is a very simple justification for this. Indeed, one cannot help but be struck by the scale of this crazy race and this desire to always go further. In a country like China where innovation has become a constant in all areas under the impetus of a government that wishes to make the Middle Kingdom a nation at the forefront in all industrial fields, visitors to the GILE ont pu en constater les effets de visu. Plus rien ne semble arrêter les acteurs d’un secteur en pleine ébullition, lequel est désormais stimulé, par l’avènement de l’intelligence artificielle dont il est à ce jour impossible d’en cerner les limites. Toujours est t’il qu’elle est désormais omniprésente dans l’univers de l’éclairage, et qu’elle s’apprête à offrir des possibilités infinies, lesquelles influeront sur nos comportements de consommation au quotidien. L’éclairage est entrain de vivre une révolution industrielle et technologique sans précédent. Aussi est ce pour cela, et au risque de nous répéter que la thématique de ce pouvoir de l’infini choisi par Messe Frankfurt is one of the most judicious slogans and the best suited to the offer of this 2024 edition. And to better prove that this is not just an addition of good words, the organizers hammered home the point in a most spectacular way on the occasion of a gala dinner reserved for exhibitors and players in the profession, quite out of the ordinary. Against a giant screen backdrop, they transported us into the future with a profusion of special effects, lighting effects, and sound. It was in this interstellar atmosphere that transported the guests into this world of tomorrow that the speakers spoke. This impressive evening demonstrates that our Chinese friends have mastered all the codes of the most modern communication today. In any case, we had never witnessed such a spectacular staging for this kind of evening anywhere else.
An almost…infinite offer
A slogan as relevant as it may be, constituted a very ambitious promise about the offer proposed. At the end of this 2024 edition of the GILE, It must be acknowledged that this was perfectly in line with this commitment. We felt this feeling of infinity deeply, to the point of making us dizzy, so much did the dimension, variety, and depth of the offer impress us. All sectors of lighting were represented without the slightest exception, from the most modest of components to suppliers of urban lighting and large public buildings. In these absolutely exceptional conditions, we should therefore not be surprised by the success in terms of attendance, as buyers from all sectors of the profession were able to find what they were looking for. Nevertheless, such a plethora of offers could become a time bomb if it was not clearly identified or sectorized. There is nothing worse for a visitor to such a gigantic show than not being able to find their way around in their research and purchasing intentions. Not only do they waste their time, their energy, and accumulate fatigue, both mental and physical. This is the trap that can be easily fallen into when faced with such a flood of exhibitors. This is precisely where Messe Frankfurt was able to express all its know-how, all its experience, despite the complexity of the subject. Indeed, with the advent of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, the world of lighting is constantly changing. As we have already said, it has entered the world of high technology, which gives it infinite powers, as this famous slogan so aptly expresses. Obviously, this only adds to the complexity of this industry and a multiplication of stakeholders, particularly at the subcontractor level, with the omnipresence of very strategic components such as semiconductors and other microprocessors without which nothing would be possible. It was therefore up to the organizers to clarify all this production, which they did with their world-renowned expertise, allowing an easy and above all targeted visit for buyers according to their activity. On the other hand, they demonstrated the reality of the power of infinity by determining 7 themes in the distribution of the overall offer:
Gile Guangzhou
Gallery
Intelligence Solutions – Smart and Healthy Lighting Ecosystem Hall (Hall 9.2)
Highlighting the latest advancements in the smart lighting ecosystem, the Smart and Healthy Lighting Ecosystem Hall showcased technologies such as IoT (internet of things), AI and intelligent algorithms that enable personalized and interactive lighting experiences tailored to users’ needs. The exhibits also featured sustainable, low-carbon lighting systems that optimize energy consumption through intelligent control.
LED Packaging and Health Lighting Exhibition Hall (Hall 4.2), Smart and Healthy Lighting Ecosystem Hall (Hall 9.2)
These rooms explored emerging trends in healthy lighting, including full-spectrum lighting, human-centric lighting, and the integration of intelligent control systems with personalized lighting experiences. An area that helped reveal the power of lighting in the comfort of our daily lives and contribute to our physiological well-being.
Low-carbon solutions – New Energy Storage Pavilion (Hall 5.2), Gaoyou Street Lighting Pavilion (Hall 5.1)
The new energy storage pavilion promoted the integration of energy storage and photovoltaic technology to help achieve carbon neutrality. The Gaoyou street lighting pavilion showcased photovoltaic street lights that integrate IoT and big data technologies to enable remote monitoring, fault detection and data analysis, thereby improving the intelligence of urban management and contributing to the sustainable development of smart cities.
Design Aesthetics – Design Aesthetics Zone (Hall 10.1), Zhongshan City Lighting Pavilion (Hall 13.1)
The Design Aesthetics Zone staged by GILE and Luce e design and curated by Mr. Stefano Piontini of VSP and Mr. Xu Dongliang of TORYO International Lighting Design Center, showcased the intersection of light, design and aesthetics. The area was centered around the theme “Light +” and was inspired by the Roman Colosseum. It aimed to create an immersive exhibition space that integrated art, design and creativity, and served as a platform for the integration of Eastern and Western design philosophies. The Zhongshan Lighting City Pavilion, meanwhile, showcased the ancient city’s rich lighting know-how and unique designs, with local manufacturers showcasing their work and alluring traditions.
Arts – Lighting Arts Exhibition Pavilion (Halls 3.1 and 6.1)
The pavilion explored the artistic, cultural and creative evolution of Chinese lighting brands, stimulating innovation and international collaboration in the domestic lighting art industry. Under the theme "Metamorphosis", It aimed to demonstrate the transformation and integration of old and new, as well as the cross-pollination of different disciplines within the lighting art ecosystem.
Horticulture Demonstration Hall – Bio-optics and smart agriculture (Hall 5.2)
Organized jointly by GILE and the China Agricultural Machinery Association, the hall aimed to build a cross-industry platform integrating bio-optics and smart agricultural technologies to boost productivity and sustainability in agriculture. It showcased how bio-photonics and clean energy technologies can help China achieve carbon neutrality in the agricultural sector.
Metasight – New Display Applications Pavilion (Hall 5.2)
The new Display Applications Pavilion invited leading brands to delve deeper into innovative trends in the LED display industry. Simultaneous events taking place in the hall included product demonstrations as well as seminars discussing the latest applications of display technologies.
Gile Guangzhou
Gallery
China, land of the future?
If there is one country that gets people talking, it is China, and rightly so. We will not venture into the political arena, that is not our purpose. However, the Middle Kingdom is an inexhaustible subject, the subject of many questions but also fantasies, including that of an economic crisis that has caused the country to regress. However, this is jumping the gun a little. Of course, Covid hit the population hard, and it has had difficulty recovering, but the nightmare seems well forgotten today. We must also not forget the real estate shock and its consequences, particularly on the confidence of citizens who have suffered this turmoil and who have become cautious in terms of domestic consumption after all these vicissitudes. However, the country has not collapsed and still has many strings to its bow. This is how the government began an unprecedented reindustrialization policy, focused on all future technologies (AI, robotics, biotechnologies, environment, etc.) There are 44 of these, and the country has taken a head start on all other nations on the planet, occupying leadership in 37 of the 44 of them, with once again great ambitions for export which has made its fortune.
In this context, there is therefore no need to be surprised by the success of GILE, a field where all the cutting-edge technologies that make China strong intersect. It is therefore a safe bet that the 2025 edition will go ever higher towards infinity…