Image credit: Jak Howard/Esports Insider on Flickr
UK-based B2B esports and media company Esports Insider has announced the return of its flagship physical event, ESI London.
The esports industry conference will take place on November 8th and 9th 2021 at Boxpark Wembley, ‘connecting the biggest global brands with the most influential leaders and world-class speakers in the esports industry’.
The 20,000 square foot dedicated events space at Boxpark promises to combine an esports conferences with unorthodox entertainment such as axe-throwing.
ESI London promises to ‘deliver networking, education, debate and fun’, providing attendees with insights into the esports landscape from industry leaders, as Esports Insider has been doing with its conferences since 2016. Since the pandemic began last year, ESI has been running ESI Digital events – this marks the return of a full physical event.
There will also be networking opportunities with brands, esports stakeholders, teams, tournament operators, game publishers and more. There will be three traditional networking zones, alongside offering competitions and fun networking alternatives including Axe Throwing (Bad Axe), Pop Golf and VR Gaming as part of the two-day event.
Esports Insider will also host an opening drinks event on November 7th.
“As ever we will provide the best in-class speaker line-up of industry leaders, experts with topics and sessions that you’ll not want to miss. We’ll also be providing opportunities for attendees to establish real relationships and connections via a new take on networking. We’re back!”
Sam Cooke, Esports Insider
The themes covered at ESI London 2021 will be:
- The Dotted Line – Esports’ Commercialisation, Partnerships & Revenue Growth
- Angels & Unicorns – Esports & Investment, 2021
- Esports and communities
- In Play – The state of esports & betting – 2021
- Reaching new audiences – Esports sustainability
“The return of ESI London is incredibly exciting for us here at Esports Insider. We originally anticipated this to take place back in 2020, and we can’t wait to make the most of what is a fantastic venue for business and entertainment in Boxpark Wembley” said Sam Cooke, co-founder and MD at Esports Insider.
“As ever we will provide the best in-class speaker line-up of industry leaders, experts with topics and sessions that you’ll not want to miss. We’ll also be providing opportunities for attendees to establish real relationships and connections via a new take on networking – a beer and a business card no longer cuts the mustard, and we want to be the forward thinking leaders in the space to offer this, alongside unrivalled value for money industry wide. We’re back!”
The full agenda for ESI London will be revealed soon. Tickets for ESI London are available here, with discounts for group, early bird and others. Passes are also available for those wishing to secure their attendance to the remaining digital event, ESI Digital Winter in 2021, which will also feature this year’s ESI Hall of Fame.
The first Esports Insider Oxford Street Pop-Up will also take place on Saturday 9th October, with involvement from EQ, Veloce, 3D Aim Trainer, We Are Nations and Wanyoo. Access is free for those wanting to walk in on the day, with some elements requiring pre-registration.
Further reading: ‘People miss people, there’s an appetite for live esports events to return’ – interview with ESI co-founder Sam Cooke
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.
