AV Alliance Get Together Across the Maltese Islands

Hosting an AV Alliance Get Together in Malta was a opportunity - or shall we say gift - none of us expected to arise in the foreseeable future, yet here we are, two weeks after our meeting day wrapped at the Westin Dragonara Resort, reminiscing about the memories of yet another unforgettable trip. Beyond the impeccable hosting, we owe the entire event happening to our Maltese Member, Mark Vella at Powerhouse Audiovisuals, from immediately volunteering when our original plans of a different location had to be pivoted, to successfully convincing the Universe to make this AV Alliance Get Together a reality.

Some destinations can make you work hard to enjoy them, but Malta certainly isn’t one of those places! With its sun-soaked coastlines, honey-coloured historic towns, crystal-clear waters, rich cultural heritage, and exquisite cuisine, this little island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea has a remarkable talent for making you want to stay a little longer. At the same time, its excellent hotels and modern conference facilities (all within a short distance) cater to all the needs of international events of all sizes. The seaside town of St. Julian’s, where our meeting took place, is only 15 minutes from the capital of Valletta, and does not only draw party-loving vacationers, but also conferences to its 5-star hotels and convention centers.

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.

With the dates - October 14-17, 2026 - already set for almost a year in advance, pivoting the location of the Get Together may have proved a challenge, had it not been for the support of **our Maltese Member company, **Powerhouse Audiovisuals and our local DMC partner, EC Meetings, who helped us plan and coordinate quite an action-packed programme for what turned out to be a huge number of attendees!

On Wednesday, October 14th we hosted our traditional welcome dinner in the Pavilion Hall of the Westin Dragonara Resort, where we also introduced our new AV Alliance Members - Really AV and NPi Audio Visual Solutions - in person for the first time. After a long night filled with great food, drinks, and reunions, we embarked (quite literally) our social day on October 15th.

There are plenty of things to do in and around the Maltese Isles, but the majority of those activities are somehow connected to the sea. From the port of Marfa, we took to motorboats to see the various sea caves around the small island of Comino, as well as the turquois waters of the spectacular Blue Lagoon before heading to Gozo. This island a delightful mix of rugged coastlines, picturesque villages, hidden bays, ancient temples, salt pans, and breathtaking views. Knowing our AVA family very well by now, we decided to forego ordinary sightseeing and took to UTVs on country roads surrounded by limestone and cactuses, turning it into a proper adventure with plenty of laughter.

After a hearthy lunch at the Country Terrace restaurant overlooking Mgarr Harbour, we took the Fast Ferry to Valletta for a sunset sightseeing and a few drinks before heading back to St. Julian’s for dinner at Paranga, the seaside restaurant of the InterContinental Malta.

The goal of any AV Alliance meeting has always had a strong emphasis on building not only business connections but also interpersonal relationships, as well as the power of in-person discussions. To this end, our AV Alliance Board convened as usual on October 14th to discuss the most important topics regarding the internal and external affairs of the AV Alliance. This was followed by a Sponsor Committee meeting - not the first in kind, but the first one in person since the Committee’s inception - that aims to leverage the value brought by and for both Members and Sponsors of the AV Alliance to elevate the level collaboration. The meeting day of the Get Together followed on Friday, October 16th at the Westin Dragonara Resort, where our AV and staging was provided by Powerhouse Audiovisuals, with the support of some of our sponsoring partners, such as ROE Visual and AV-Drop. For this meeting we were joined by 94 of our Members and Partners, which means that once again, this event was a record-breaking AV Alliance Get Together.

One of the highlights of this meeting was a segment dedicated to our Regional Insights initiative, which was launched earlier this year by David Woodcock, CEO of one of our UK-based Member companies, PSP. The aim of this initiative has been to explore a new, practical and engaging way to strengthen collaboration, consistency, and regional momentum between the Members of the AV Alliance, while getting a clear picture on the challenges, opportunities, and particular circumstances impacting the even industry - and especially the AV business - across various regions of the world. The findings of our dedicated Regional Insights survey were presented by regional leads during the meeting day.

We also had exciting product updates, demonstrations, and news from our Sponsors AV-Drop, d&b audiotechnik, Eurotruss, ROE Visual, Barco, Elation, IntelliEvent, Panasonic Projector & Display, our brand new Sponsor Pixelhue, Theatrixx Technologies, and Unique Business Systems, we also had two panel discussions during the day.

The first one tackled something of a hot topic in AV circles for the past couple of years: AI: What Are Its Positive and Negative Effects? Our panelists Marc Hanze (Groupe Novelty), Laura Güimil (2MG.NET), Tim Lang (Avera AV), and Vikram Khosla (Unique Business Systems) spoke to Matt Emerson (AVFX) about their experiences and insight on how AI has shaped and will continue to shape their companies’ business.

The second panel discussion centered around What is Creating Challenges and Opportunities in the Next 5 Years?, led by our Chairman Peter Muller (Special Effects Ltd.), who spoke to Martin Blanchard (Avera AV), Martin Kuyper (Eurotruss), Joaquin de Elias (Congress Rental), Torben Pedersen (Nordic Rentals) and Andrew Ehler (IntelliEvent) about their expectations for the future of the AV industry. Finally, the meeting also featured interesting showcases from products and solutions developed by some of our Member companies, such as Novatech Creative Event Technology and satis&fy.

Finally, the Get Together continued with an exceptional dinner at Sole by Tarragon on Friday night, a sun-soaked visit to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk and the UNESCO site Ħaġar Qim on Saturday, and last, but not least, a delicious lunch at Aalto Restaurant in Qrendi, just above the spectacular limestone arches of the Blue Grotto - which many of us visited after lunch for a boat ride in the sea caves and a dip or two in the crystal-clear sea. It was an epic ending to yet another epic AVA Family meeting!

After this Mediterranean adventure, the AV Alliance will meet for our Annual General Meeting in April 2026 in Sofia, Bulgaria, and we will be hosted by our local Member SEG.

Grazzi ħafna Malta, Mark Vella and Powerhouse Audiovisuals!