AV Alliance Get Together 2025 in Reykjavík, Iceland

As long as the AV Alliance family finds good company, plenty of delicious food, and some adventure, it is already a recipe for a memorable Get Together. Iceland has given us all of this in abundance, and then some: our most recent event was not only our most attended Get Together, but also one our most thought-provoking business meetings to date. Let’s see what we were up to!

Iceland is famous for its dramatic natural landscapes, torn and shaped by volcanoes, glaciers, geysers, and waterfalls that make it feel almost otherworldly. It has long been known as the “Land of Fire and Ice” because of the striking contrast between its icy glaciers and geothermal activity. The country is also celebrated for its spectacular Northern Lights in winter and the Midnight Sun in summer.

Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital, is known for its cluinary excellence, vibrant arts scene, modern design, and strong sense of community – and its infamously high prices, quite understandable for a country that must rely heavily on import. On the other hand, Iceland’s commitment to sustainability, renewable energy, and eco-tourism has made it a global example of environmental consciousness. And of course, its Viking heritage and folklore of elves and hidden people (yes, they are real, as we have seen it for ourselves… or did we?) adds a touch of charming mysticism to it all.

Twice a year, the AV Alliance family meets in person: once for our Annual General Meeting in the first few months of the year, and once for a more relaxed Get Together in the fall/winter. Every time, a different AV Alliance Member company hosts us in their home city somewhere around the globe. These events are all about connecting face-to-face, deepening relationships, and strengthening the bonds that make our global network so unique.

This event was in the works for a long time, since the AV Alliance AGM 2023 in Bangkok to be precise, and we were beyond excited to make it happen together with our Icelandic Member, Luxor. Finally, the stars aligned for us and the Get Together in Reykjavík took place on October 1-4 (perfectly timed for the Northern Lights season!).

On October 1st we hosted an exquisite welcome dinner at our hotel, the Iceland Parliament Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, where we also introduced some of our new AV Alliance Members – Hurricane, Consorcio Events, Melvi, and AUCOP – in person for the first time. Then, just like we did in Vancouver last year, instead of going straight to the meeting, we kicked off the Get Together with our social day on October 2nd.

There are plently of adventures to be had in Iceland, and we made sure to experience as much of it as possible within our limited time there. Part of our group headed to explore the ice tunnels of Langjökull, the second largest glacier in Iceland to the North of Reykjavík, and spent the day in, quite literally, the land of snow and ice.

The rest of the group, on the other hand, experienced the more fiery side of the country by touring the famous Golden Circle, a round trip of some of Iceland’s most famous attractions. After a visit to Þingvellir National Park (home to the world’s oldest parliament, the Althing, founded in 930 AD) and battling the elements between the Atlantic and Eurasian tectonic plates, part of the group enjoyed a dip in the Secret Lagoon, Iceland’s oldest geothermal swimming pool dating back to 1891, while the other part headed to the majestic Gullfoss waterfall on the Hvítá River, which originates from the Langjökull glacier.

Just ten minutes away is the Haukadalur geothermal area, which is home to a number of hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles, and geysers, including the Great Geysir and the active Strokkur, which we got to see erupt a handful of times. After a stop at the breathtaking Kerið, a 6,500-year old volcanic crater lake in the south, we ended the trip in Raufarhóshellir, where we walked the path of lava in one of Iceland’s longest and best-known lava tubes in Iceland, formed around 5,600 years ago.

We also had the pleasure to lunch at Friðheimar Tomato Farm, a truly special experience for anyone visiting Iceland. Friðheimar is a unique, sustainable family-run tomato farm and restaurant that operates year-round, offering a dining experience unlike any other in its greenhouse and wine bar. It is famous for its eco-friendly farming methods, harnessing geothermal energy to heat the greenhouses and produce tomatoes throughout the year, as well as its breeding and showing the special Icelandic horse breed. To crown the day, our whole group met up at Fjörukráin restaurant in the Viking Village near Reykjavík for a traditional viking feast after a long day spent in ice and rain, where we had the dubitable pleasure of tasting fermented shark, and even had one lucky lass and lad crowned honorary vikings during dinner.

The AV Alliance Get Together place a strong emphasis on building not only business connections but also interpersonal relationships. This goal had already been met even before our event officially kicked off, as our AV Alliance Board convened for an intense two-day in-person meeting on September 30th and October 1st at the spectacular Harpa convention center to discuss the most important topics regarding the internal and external affairs of the AV Alliance. The actual meeting day of the Get Together, however, took place on Friday, October 3rd at the Iceland Parliament Hotel, where our AV support and staging was provided by Luxor, with the support of many of some of our esteemed sponsoring partners, such as Elation, d&b audiotechnik, and AV-Drop. For this meeting we were joined by 78 of our Members and Partners, which made it the largest AV Alliance Get Together to date.

Apart from exciting updates and news from our sponsoring partners d&b audiotechnik, Elation Lighting, AV-Drop, ROE Visual, Barco, IntelliEvent, Panasonic, Theatrixx Technologies, and Unique Business Systems, we also featured two panel discussions as an old/new feature of our meetings.

The first one tackled a topic that is set to transform audiovisual technology in the not-so-distant future: How AI Is Shaping the Industry, and How It Can Be Used as a Tool to Improve Business? Our panelists Zsolt Kassai (Special Effects Ltd.), Laura Güimil (2MG.NET), Martin Zirkel (satis&fy USA), and Dru Whitacre (Drape Kings / AV-Drop), masterfully led by Patrick Phaneuf (XPAV Expert’ease) discussed their experiences on how AI has changed the way they go about their everyday lives and how it is helping them in their jobs, both on a personal level and on a much larger scale, impacting the company’s business.

The second panel discussion brought back a topic that is becoming more important and more urgent with each meeting, especially when it comes to privately, mostly family-owned businesses: Growth, Leadership and Succession. The panel was led by Matt Emerson (AVFX), whosold his family business CEAVCO to AVFX a few years ago . All of the panelists shared their own “origin stories” of how they had found themselves in the AV industry, and at the helm of their own companies.

Joaquin de Elias (Congress Rental), Peter Muller (Special Effects Ltd.), Martin Blanchard (XPAV Expert’ease), Zaki Mustapa (Cantuman Wawasan), and our Honorary Member and friend Munir Samji (former owner of Blitz Communications, once an AV Alliance Member) spoke with charming honesty about family tragedies, difficult learning curves in leadership, accepting their own shortcomings and turning them into advantages, as well as lessons to be passed on to the next generation, and ultimately plans for succession.

In addition to the above, we heard the latest updates on the development of our network’s global training program, the AV Alliance Academy by project leader Dave John (ETP/LMG) and Laura Güimil (2MG.NET). We also had the pleasure of listening to some great presentations from Matt Hussack from Proshow Audiovisual, Zsolt Kassai from Special Effects Ltd, and Matt Emerson from AVFX, as part of the Showcase Forum, where AV Alliance members are given the opportunity to showcase their own products or services, innovative business ideas, and unique solutions they believe may be of interest and value to their peers within our global network.

As a closing to our meeting day, we had invited coach and mentor Rúna Magnúsdottir to speak about breaking unconscious biases in leadership in her interactive and inspiring keynote From Boxed-In to Breakthrough: Leadership for a New Era of Conscious Business.

There was only one thing left to do after this incredible few days: to end our Get Together with a relaxing and much-needed dip and one final gourmet lunch at the world-famous Blue Lagoon, before heading home (or on to further adventures). We wish to extend out deepest gratitude to our incredible host, Karl Sigurðsson for his generosity and dedication, and his whole technical team at Luxor for their outstanding AV support throughout our meeting, as well as our heartfelt thanks to Pétur Óli Gislason for being indispensable to us in briging this event to life.

After this epic trip to Iceland, the AV Alliance will be heading to a location that is quite the opposite extreme in every possible sense: our Annual General Meeting will take place in February 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and we will be hosted by our local Members MAXI and Hoffmann.

Takk fyrir allt, Ísland!