2021 Esports Business Summit Planned for Las Vegas - Conferences & Conventions

(ATR) Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas will play host to this year’s Esports Business Summit; an annual conference bringing together key players in the esports ecosystem.

Set to be held on October 18-20, the annual conference will play host to major esports teams, marketing agencies, game publishers, investors, media companies and other esports stakeholders.

Planned panels include discussions on how esports can compete with traditional sport’s ROI, the social and community impact of esports, brand licensing and merchandising, and what traditional sports can learn from esports’ community engagement strategies.

In addition, there will be several networking opportunities and ‘State of the Union’ talks, in which an esports league will give updates on the status of and plans for their products. Most major franchises, including the NBA-sponsored NBA2k league, will be represented. The conference will conclude on the third day with a panel of CEOs from the world’s top esports teams.

Early registration is currently available, with tickets available to purchase here. The full program of the event is here.

2021 VISTA Conference Goes Virtual

The 10th edition of the VISTA Conference will be held virtually over six days between November 18 and December 16, 2021.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said the conference, designed to provide a platform for sport scientists and researchers to hear from and have dialogue with experts in the field of sport for athletes with impairments, will be a partnership with six leading universities.

VISTA 2021 will be led by KU Leuven, Belgium; University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden; School of Kinesiology; Western University, Canada; University of Pittsburgh, USA; and Yonsei University, South Korea.

The conference will address six themes at the heart of the Paralympic Movement: Ethics and Integrity (Nov. 18); Socio-Cultural Legacy (Nov. 22); Health and Medicine (Nov. 29); Evidence-Based Classification (Dec. 1) – Technology in Paralympic Sport (Dec. 14) and Paralympic Performance (Dec. 16).

Each theme will be presented by a different university, with KU Leuven as the main host. Each of the six online sessions will run three hours and will be reserved for Q&A and interaction with the audience. Keynotes, oral and poster presentations will be pre-recorded and made available online on Nov. 1 for viewing ahead of the sessions.

Sports scientists and experts in Para sport have until July 10 to submit abstracts for oral and poster presentations through the conference website www.vista2021.com.

An early bird rate of EUR 175 and a student rate of EUR 80 are available until Sept. 15 at www.vista2021.com. Participants can also sign up for selected themes rather than all six.

The conference is free for all Paralympians who participated in the Paralympic Games from Rome 1960 to Tokyo 2020. The registration fee is also waived for delegates from countries on the lower 50 percent of the UN Human development Index ranking 2020.

Melbourne Hosting Global Sports Summit

SportNXT, a global sport thought and leadership summit, will be staged in Melbourne, Australia on November 17-19, 2021.

The global sport summit will be held during the same week of the rescheduled Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Among those who have already signed on to take part in discussion via live video are World Athletics president and IOC member Sebastian Coe, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay, and Megan Rapinoe, captain of the US Women’s National soccer team.

Australian sports and media leaders are also due to attend and participate, including high-ranking executives from the Australian Football League, Tennis Australia, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the Australian Sports Commission and Rugby Australia.

Other local and international talent will be confirmed in the lead-up to the event.

"The SportNXT vision is to create the Davos of sport. A unique opportunity to gather the best and brightest minds from around the world to share ideas about the future of the sports industry," said SportNXT Chairman Eddie McGuire.

"SportNXT seeks to identify the challenges and opportunities playing out in the sports business landscape; plotting the responses required to maximize success in the future."

For more information, visit sportnxt.org. Tickets are on sale now.

Copenhagen to host 2021 Smart Cities & Sport Summit

The World Union of Olympic Cities chooses the Danish capital of Copenhagen as the host of the 2021 Smart Cities & Sport Summit, taking place on November 22-24.

The annual conference, first held in 2014, brings representatives from over 100 cities together to discuss ways sport can help achieve cities’ social, economic and environmental goals. While the summit is typically held in Olympic host cities or at the Olympic headquarters, Copenhagen earned the nod this year thanks to its strong focus on sustainability and active communities.

"Copenhagen is a prime example of how to create urban environments that promote movement in everyday life. At the same time, the congress is a great start to the cooperation between the city of Copenhagen, DGI [Denmark’s largest association of sports clubs] and DIF [Danish NOC], which aims to make the capital the world’s most active city," said the Chairman of the Danish NOC, Hans Natorp.

"The fact that we are able to do sports and exercise in the city is a big part of Copenhagen’s DNA", added Lars Weiss, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen. "We can ride our bikes in the streets, swim in the harbors and do sports in the green spaces – and with the big variety of sport associations in Copenhagen we have a strong sense of connectedness around sport that unites us across social divisions".

Copenhagen is currently hosting several UEFA Euro 2020 matches, while also preparing to host the World Pride and EuroGames this August, and the Tour de France Grand Départ next year.

For more information, visit https://www.smartcitiesandsport.org/. Tickets are available now to attend either in person or online.

Written by Filip Vachuda and Gerard Farek

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