The organizers of IBC2009 announced Sept. 15 that 45,547 people attended this year’s convention, down 7 percent from 2008, but a decline less severe than some expected given the recession.

When exhibitors are removed from the tally, the number of attendees fell by less than 5 percent compared to last year’s gathering. Despite the fall off in attendance, Michael Crimp, chief operating officer of IBC, declared the gathering a success. Emphasizing that attendance is not the only yardstick to measure success, Crimp said the quality of interactions at the convention remained high.

“Our main aim is not to be a trade show but to be an experience,” he said. “One of the ways in which we do that is through the content we provide, which puts the technology on the exhibition floor into context.”

The gathering offered keynote addresses from Marty Pompadur and Rory Sutherland; movie screenings in stereoscopic 3-D; an opportunity to study both the ASC and the BSC digital camera tests and question the experts behind them; and the chance to let off steam in virtual motor races in the games arena, all of which contributed to Crimp’s upbeat assessment.