In partnership with ESL UK, Intel, PwC, and NEC Group we are delighted to announce ESI Birmingham; a new esports business symposium.

The event will take place on Thursday 24th May (9:00 AM through to the evening) in The Foundry at Arena Birmingham, the day before the quarter-finals of ESL One Birmingham begin, with more details to be announced.

Attendees will be able to attend networking events before, during, and after the main conference programme. Attendees of ESI Birmingham will also get Special Guest passes to the already sold out ESL One Dota 2 Major, as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of the arena.

ESI Birmingham follows hot on the heels of our Esports Insider Super Forum, held in March at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, which was focused on the crossover of sports and esports. It’s the latest in a expanding programme of our events, which includes the upcoming ESI London (18-20th September), which will see two full days of exhibition, workshops, debates, parties and more.

First things first though, Birmingham. The symposium will feature 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 look at explaining 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 be delivered by 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 will be providing their perspective on the esports industry with representatives from the UK, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden.

During the panels, industry experts will address some of the other most important elements in the business of esports. Sessions will cover the opportunity with esports in the UK, the esports demographic, a focus on the importance of community and more.

Confirmed speakers to date include Dr Florian Block, Research Fellow at Digital Creativity Labs, University of York, Ben Woodward, Co-Founder of Code Red Esports, Jurre Pannekeet, Head of Esports at Newzoo, Kirsty Endfield, Founder and Director of Swipe Right PR, Dan Matson, Director at AMP Global Media, Mathew Kemp, Senior Product Manager at Jagex Ltd, and some of the finest talent from both Intel and PwC.

“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.”

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!”

More details of ESI Birmingham are to be announced very soon.

To register, visit this page. For more information, you can head here.

For ticket or sponsorship enquiries, please contact: [email protected] or ESI’s Head of Commercial [email protected]