TEDxExeter set to double audience in 2016
TEDxExeter will offer twice as many tickets for its 2016 conference as it did last year. Exeter’s leading festival of ideas, which is now in its fifth year, is responding to the unprecedented level of demand last year, when tickets sold out in two hours, and all concessionary tickets were gone in under 20 minutes.
The 2016 conference will still be held at Exeter Northcott Theatre, which seats 465 people. A further 450 people will be able to watch a simultaneous livestream in an adjacent auditorium at Exeter University. Both audiences will come together to meet speakers and each other and reflect on what they have heard during the breaks. The theme for the day will be “Dreams to Reality”.
“We want to maintain the wonderful intimacy fostered by the Northcott’s auditorium,” says TEDxExeter licensee and curator Claire Kennedy, “but we also want to allow many more people to experience TEDxExeter and the connections and conversations that flow. By livestreaming the whole day into the Alumni Auditorium we can offer many more concessionary tickets as well as doubling the size of the audience gathered on the day.”
The conference is not limited just to those with tickets. Last year it was streamed live on the internet for the first time, allowing anyone anywhere to watch. TEDxExeter was watched by about 1,500 people gathered in viewing parties across Exeter. These included police leaders at Middlemoor and students at schools, Exeter College and the university. Groups also watched at the library, the City Council, St Loyes and the Met Office. Individuals from 38 countries including Iraq, Swaziland and Canada also tuned in. This year TEDxExeter aims to expand this audience too.
All the talks are filmed and made freely available on the internet. The TED translation project means ideas from Exeter reach a truly global audience. So far TEDxExeter speakers’ talks have been viewed nearly 5 million times. Four of them have been featured on TED.com: Karima Bennoune sharing stories of real people fighting against fundamentalism in their own communities; Scilla Elworthy speaking on non violence; Bandi Mbubi calling for fair trade phones; and slam poet Harry Baker’s love poem for lonely prime numbers…
“As demand for our events grows, we’re exploring ways to increase their reach and impact,” adds Claire Kennedy. “We want to catalyse conversations with policy makers, thought leaders and activists to create positive change locally and beyond. We are excited by the ripple effects from this year’s conference. These include acres of rainforest protected though CoolEarth, and Magic Breakfasts’ plans to launch in schools in Exeter to provide healthy breakfasts so children don’t go to school too hungry to learn.
“We also hope that the cheaper tickets in the Alumni Auditorium will encourage a younger audience to come along. We are reaching out to schools in the local area, inviting them to bring groups of their students to the Livestream event.”
Tickets for TEDxExeter 2016 will go on sale at the Exeter Northcott Theatre box office at 10am on 1 December 2015. Tickets to see the conference live in the theatre will cost £60. Tickets for the simultaneous livestream to Exeter University’s Alumni Auditorium will be £20 (this is a charge to cover the cost of lunch and refreshments).
The ticket price includes lunch and refreshments during the breaks. Registration will open at 8.30 on the day, the conference will start at 9.25 and finish at 5pm. There will be generous morning and afternoon breaks with refreshments in the University’s Great Hall and lunch will be sustainably sourced.
To keep up with speaker announcements and news about ticket sales or to watch last years talks, readers can join the TEDxExeter mailing list at www.tedxexeter.com.
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