ESL UK and Esports Inside have announced that they are partnering up to bring us ESI Birmingham, a new esports business symposium. It’ll take place on May 24, 2018 at Arena Birmingham, the day before the quarter-finals of ESL One Birmingham begin, so be sure to keep an eye out for updates.
You’ll be able to go to networking events before, after, and during the main conference program, and attendees will also get special guest passes to the ESL One Dota 2 Major (which is already sold out), as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of the arena. Following on from the Esports Insider Super Forum, which took place in March at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, it’s the latest in events by Esports Insider, including the upcoming ESI London (coming up this autumn, on 18 – 20 September, 2018), aiming to showcase the opportunities for businesses within the esports industry.
The symposium will have four panels and an opening keynote by James Dean, UK managing director at ESL, and Mark Broom, UK Client Computing Marketing Manager at Intel. The opening keynote, “Together as One,†will explain the ins and outs of the Intel and ESL partnership, where it’s going and how instrumental it has been in shaping current UK esports.
The second keynote session will feature PwC, one of the largest professional services firms globally, with a network that spans across 158 countries. Based on their experiences with a range of industry sectors, they’ll be providing their perspective on the esports industry, with representatives from the UK, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden. Sessions will also cover some of the other most important elements in the business of esports, such as the following:
- UK esports: the land of opportunity
Speakers: Dr Florian Block, Research Fellow at Digital Creativity Labs, University of York and Ben Woodward, Co-Founder of Code Red Esports. - Understanding the esports demographic
Speakers: Jurre Pannekeet, Head of Esports at Newzoo, Kirsty Endfield, Founder and Director of Swipe Right PR, and Dan Matson, Director at AMP Global Media. - Where is the revenue: marketing, advertising, VC and sponsorships
Speaker: Mathew Kemp, Senior Product Manager at Jagex Ltd. - Community: the lifeblood of all things gaming
Speaker:Â To be announced soon.
“ESI Birmingham is a fantastic addition to the ESL One Birmingham lineup,†said James Dean, UK managing director at ESL. “ESL One Birmingham is the first Dota 2 Major and ESL One event to be held in the UK, and proof that the UK esports scene is continuing to grow in importance and influence worldwide. We have a huge audience of young, tech-savvy esports fans, and ESI Birmingham showcases the many opportunities available for UK businesses to reach them. Whatever your background, this is the time to experience the full potential of the esports industry.â€
Sam Cooke, managing director at Esports Insider, added: “We’ve been hosting esports business focused events for some time now and witnessed the growing appetite to understand more about the industry. The UK is the 5th largest gaming market and 2nd largest media market in the world, the sold-out ESL One Birmingham event is a fine demonstration of the vast potential for esports and businesses in the UK.”
“We’ve been keen to work more closely with ESL UK for some time, and with ESL One Birmingham, the fastest selling Dota 2 Major, this seemed the perfect opportunity!â€
More details are to be announced soon; to register, head over to their Eventbrite page here.
