i58 will be the biggest Insomnia event yet with more halls and LAN gaming space

Insomnia58 (i58) will be the largest Multiplay gaming event yet when it takes place from August 26th to 29th.
eSports News UK has learnt that organisers are planning on using 11 halls in the Birmingham NEC venue this time around, up from the eight used at i57.
This also means that there will be room for 5,500 LAN gamers – around twice as much space as there was at i57 in March.
A close source to the event told eSports News UK that organisers reckon ticket sales will reach 100,000 – and that achieving 80,000 would probably be a ‘disappointment’ at this stage.
There were around 40,000 ticket sales at i57.
The news comes after Multiplay CEO Craig “Wizzo” Fletcher told eSports News UK back in March that future i-series events would grow in size and eventually feature larger prize pools.
It’s not too much of a surprise – i58 will be the first Insomnia event running alongside GAME Fest, a bigger expo area showcasing the latest games and products.
In a recent press release, Multiplay (which is owned by retailer GAME) said that Insomnia58 will be ‘the biggest and best Insomnia event to date’, with more stage shows, a larger Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) LAN hall, and more eSports tournaments with larger prize pools, including new i58 Overwatch and UKCSGO Masters competitions.
“We are gearing up to be what is will the most exciting and eventful Insomnia yet,” said Fletcher. “We’re going bigger and better with the addition of GAME Fest, giving visitors more ‘first to play’ opportunities with some of the most anticipated games of the year and more exclusive content.
“We’ve the biggest YouTube stars as special guests at the largest UK gaming festival; we’ve also expanded on our already vast BYOC LAN hall, various feature zones and eSports tournaments, meaning Insomnia58 is without a doubt the place to be this summer to celebrate all things gaming.”
Elsewhere, Multiplay has also started hosting some pub meet ups and community events, including 2v2 League of Legends with GAME prizes.
i58 tickets can be found online at InsomniaGamingFestival.com/tickets and in store at GAME.

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.