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EUROPE – 7 EUROPEAN ASSOCIATIONS LAUNCH THE ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY ALLIANCE (ETIA)
On 8 September, during the PLASA Show in London, the European associations AFIAL, APESA, AVITA, Event Confederation, PLASA, PSA, and VPLT announced that they are joining forces at the international level. The group represents manufacturers, distributors, dealers, system integrators, production companies, professional end-users, and technical service providers involved in live events.
A New Alliance
The new alliance provides a platform for exchange, pooling of expertise and resources, and a strong collective voice in European legislative and regulatory processes. The associations come from six European countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Event Confederation (umbrella organization for Belgian event professionals) – event-confederation.be
AVITA (Finnish audiovisual association) – avita.org
APESA (French alliance for event, live performance, and audiovisual professionals) – alliance-apesa.org
VPLT (German entertainment technology association) – vplt.org
AFIAL (Spanish association grouping manufacturers and importers of audiovisual technology) – afial.net
PLASA (UK-based association for lighting and sound professionals) – plasa.org
PSA (UK Production Services Association) – psa.org.uk
Initial Focus on Sustainability
The member companies of the seven ETIA associations determine the future viability of the international event sector through the development of new and sustainable technologies, services, and standards. The associations and their members commit to actively contributing, through ETIA, to the economic sustainability of the entertainment and media technology sector. In concrete terms, this involves standardization processes that provide comparable and reliable data on the environmental impact of products.
Shared Expertise for the Benefit of the Sector
ETIA members state:
“Like many other industries in our economy, the event sector is undergoing profound change. An international collaboration such as ETIA, where we pool our long-standing expertise, is essential to address the many challenges our sector faces. Through ETIA, we can join forces, strengthen common interests, and collaborate on specific projects and topics, such as product life-cycle analyses. ETIA marks an important milestone in this regard, and we are confident that it will send a strong signal to our industry, our governments, and European policymakers.”
From National Initiatives to European Action
ETIA is not organized as an umbrella organization. Each association continues to represent the specific interests of its members at both the national and international levels. At the same time, cooperation on EU policy initiatives will strengthen the position of the sector in Brussels.
ETIA was officially launched during a joint panel discussion with representatives of the associations on 8 September 2025 in London, during the PLASA Show at Olympia London. The partner associations of ETIA first met during Prolight + Sound 2025 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. A follow-up meeting with partners and interested associations is planned for next year’s edition. A joint website is also expected to go live in the coming months.