"Barcelona - such a beautiful horizon..."

The 'good', 'bad' and sometimes 'downright ugly' of the radio world are packing their bags (no liquids more than 100ml remember!) and heading for the bright lights and tapas scented aroma of Barcelona for the annual NAB Europe Radio Conference.

It's a time where deals are done in huddled corners, new friends are made, and some old colleagues are avoided!

This conference promises to be an interesting one for several reasons. There's a good selection of sessions... something for everyone I feel, and if you're going to NAB I would be failing in my duty not to urge to to pop your head into the "Does radio have a 10% plus media share in your country?" session at 12pm on Monday! I, joined by a worldly wise panel, will set out my view of the barriers to growth in radio, what emerging markets need to do, and what the future is for developed markets in terms of growth. My crystal ball is well and truly polished!

For the first time at NAB there is a podcasting seminar on the Sunday... which indicates the growing importance of non-liner broadcasts to the radio world.

And another first... The European Radio Awards! I think this is a great idea, to try and pull a Europe wide contest together, and host a bit of a bash at the same time. Being a judge for the first year, I can say the quality of the award entries was really high with some great bits of radio being submitted. I fear I may be called upon to hand out an award. Let's hope it's early on during the evening before the plentiful and flowing supply of Rioja has kicked in...

And once the proceedings are over for another year, and we're all homeward bound with a stuffed straw donkey, china plate with a picture of a bullfight on it, and a jingle demo CD in Polish all stashed safely in our bags... I will bring you the lowdown from the NAB Conference 2007, and what we've learned this year.

Viva Espagne!