Event Tech Live returned to Excel London recently. For Solarflare Studio, this show has long been a valuable date in the calendar. 

Past visits have introduced us to emerging experiential technologies, boundary-pushing hardware, and a vibrant community of creators, technologists, and producers who collectively shape the future of live experiences. It has always been the sort of place where you stumble upon a new interactive display, a novel sensor technology, or a bold piece of immersive content that sparks an idea.

This year’s visit, however, painted a slightly different picture. The event felt noticeably smaller, with fewer exhibitors showcasing the kind of tangible, creative, and hardware-driven innovations that have historically drawn us in. Instead, the floor was dominated by app developers and software companies, particularly those centred around guest management, ticketing, event analytics, and audience insights.

There’s no doubt that these tools play an important role in the ecosystem. For organisers, brand teams, and agencies tasked with shaping smooth, data-led events, such solutions are undeniably useful. They help streamline operations, deepen understanding of attendee behaviour, and optimise experiences at scale. But for teams like ours – who thrive on physical interaction, immersive storytelling, and experimental tech – it was difficult not to feel a little underwhelmed by the lack of new hardware or cutting-edge creative content on display.

That isn’t to say these innovations aren’t happening elsewhere. The experiential technology landscape is vast, and there are many specialist shows around the world where bleeding-edge tools, prototypes, and installations take centre stage. In this instance, though, our visit to Event Tech Live was brief, and the opportunities for unexpected technological discovery were limited.

Still, the event remains a valuable touchpoint for the industry, and its shift toward software perhaps reflects broader trends in event operations and a greater need to understand delegate behaviour. As always, we left with the sense that the space continues to evolve – just in a slightly different direction this year. 

We’ve worked with brands exploring metaverse activations across different platforms, and the ones that truly resonate are those that align with how users naturally engage. Simply existing in a digital space isn’t enough—brands need to offer experiences that encourage return visits, whether through community-driven elements, interactive storytelling, or mechanics that feel intuitive. Some activations feel like marketing experiments rather than meaningful interactions, and audiences can tell when a campaign lacks depth. The key question brands should ask is whether their activation genuinely creates engagement or is just taking up digital space?