Venue Guide

Exhibiting at RAI Amsterdam: The AV Guide for International Exhibitors

5 critical decisions for international trade show exhibitors at RAI Amsterdam: local AV rental vs shipping, venue rigging, power drops, and budgets.

July 2026 5 min readBy RentAV Technical Production Team

The five decisions to make before you ship anything

Landing a stand at a RAI trade show is the easy part. Making that stand seen, heard and remembered in a hall with 500 competitors is where AV decisions matter — and where international exhibitors lose the most money on avoidable mistakes.

  • 1. Rent AV locally instead of shipping: Customs, voltage at 230V/50Hz, and support — a failed shipped screen has no local backup; a rented one is replaced within hours.
  • 2. Book your build-up time slot the day registration opens.
  • 3. Decide early whether your stand design needs rigging: House-rigger deadlines close weeks out.
  • 4. Order power from the venue based on your real AV load, not the stand builder's guess.
  • 5. Brief one AV partner on the whole picture: Screens, audio, lighting and content playback so your stand doesn't look assembled from three catalogues.

What actually draws visitors

One big, great screen beats four small ones; targeted directional audio beats loud ambient noise; focused spotlighting on key products beats generic hall overhead lighting. Focus your budget on high-impact visual anchors.

A realistic AV budget for a RAI stand

Most international exhibitors achieve a high-impact booth presence in the €5,000–€15,000 range. RentAV's warehouse is located just 40 minutes from the RAI loading docks, providing rapid dispatch and on-site technician standby.

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