GAT Expo kicks off 25th edition in Cartagena with attendance from stakeholders across the continent

The 25th edition of the Gaming and Technology (GAT) Expo in Cartagena kicked off on Tuesday at 9:00 AM at the Las Americas Convention Center. The event saw the presence of dignitaries including the president of Coljuegos, Colombia's gaming regulator; the associations Asojuegos, Cornazar, Fecoljuegos, and Fedelco; and an inaugural speech from José Aníbal Aguirre, creator and founder of the event.

GAT in a press statement noted that the event also attracted authorities from Paraguay and Argentina, associations from Mexico and Peru, experts and business leaders from the Colombian gaming industry, speakers from the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Peru, and a group of Latin American women leaders for "an intense day of updates, knowledge and innovation," including panels on artificial intelligence and e-sports.

The GAT organization has a team of 160 people, technical, administrative, marketing, communications, and logistics personnel, including the reception of visitors at the international airport. Organizers say they have "everything ready to welcome regular attendees of its fairs in Cartagena and Bogota," as well as executives arriving for the first time in Colombia.

At the close of business on Monday, April 8th, 2012, delegates from 37 countries were accredited to enter the fairgrounds to participate in the Gaming and Technology Expo program, a press release notes.

“The assembly and decoration of the ephemeral architecture of the Cartagena Las Americas Convention Center, which will house the exhibition booths on April 10 and 11, is progressing at an excellent pace,” the organization added.

At the end of the conference program, which opens the event, the central celebration of the 25th anniversary of GAT will take place with a Colombian party, featuring a group of bagpipes and drums with choreography, sound, and lighting that emphasize the cumbia, a music genre that originated in Cartagena and today extends from Mexico to Argentina, all across the continent. 

There will also be a salsa cabaret from Cali with dancers, music from the Congo Grande de Colombia, entertainers from the Carnival of Barranquilla with the "garabato" dance and the famous "Te olvidé" (I forgot you). The local champeta genre will also be present.

Organizers released the full schedule for the show earlier this week and stated that they expect more than 3,000 businessmen at the event. The trade show was born in Colombia five decades ago and its authorities claim that it will be one of the "most important events of the gaming industry in Latin America."

José Aníbal Aguirre, CEO of GAT, earlier commented: "We say, without fear of being wrong, that these days the gaming industry in Latam, revolves around GAT Expo Cartagena."