The Event of Sport Innovation
The SPOT is a new event that aims to galvanise innovation in sport. It brings together bright minds and smart solutions inside and outside the sport industry. The Spot is the only event that offers a platform for incubators, startups and sports companies from all over the world to meet with the International Sport world in the sport ecosystem of Lausanne, Olympic Capital, the Home of International Sport. A sold-out crowd of 700 delegates from over 25 countries and 350 organisations and companies attended the inaugural edition in May this year. Visitors included over 100 employees from 40 International Sport Federations and the International Olympic Committee, more than 45 startups and over 50 international speakers. The Market Place and Demo Zone featured over 40 startups and 15 corporate stands.
During this two-day B2B event, participants could discover fascinating new technologies and products in the field of sport, attend inspiring keynotes from world-class guest speakers and watch an exciting startup battle.
Augmented Reality, Drones, Nutrition, Blockchain, Health and performance, Data Analytics, Sensors, Fan Engagement Solutions, Internet of Things – these are just a few examples of the topics covered at The Spot 2018.
A fierce battle between 40 promising startups
Startups from Switzerland and abroad specialising in blockchain, virtual reality, data analytics, connected venue, performance & health and other fields went toe-to-toe in front of a jury made up of investors, experts from the Olympic Movement, and business leaders.
The startup battle consisted of 4 rounds of 10 startups pitching for 3 minutes to earn their spot in the final. During the qualifying round, the four winners who already secured 1’000 CHF of prize money were ForwardGame (Germany), Fanpictor (Switzerland), Resero Whistle (Germany) and SportDiet (France).
It was finally ForwardGame that won the final battle of The Spot’s first edition. The German company convinced the jury with its AR solution aimed at bridging the virtual and the physical worlds in a fun outdoor physical experience. ForwardGame received another 4’000 CHF for its victory in the final.
“We are really happy with the first edition of THE SPOT. It was great to see how everybody embraced the spirit of the event and we will build on these positive vibes. For the second edition, we are developing new exciting out-of-the-box experiences with a number of strong partners. We aim to welcome an even larger number of innovative minds from more sectors and countries to join in our adventure.”
Anna Hellman, Director of ThinkSport
Save the date: May 28 -29, 2019!
Following the success of the first edition, THE SPOT will be back next year from 28 to 29 May 2019 in Lausanne. Once again, ThinkSport will leverage the unique concentration of sports expertise in the region and attract many international experts in order to stimulate progress in sport.
The second edition of THE SPOT will be an important platform to showcase the potential of the new sports-related start-up incubator, currently being developed by ThinkSport, the Canton of Vaud, the City of Lausanne, UNIL and EPFL. Lausanne 2020, the organisers of the third edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, will also join THE SPOT to explore and present innovative solutions for what will be the next major sports event in the region. In addition, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) has once again confirmed its participation.
Registration for the event will open at the end of this year.
An initiative by ThinkSport and its partners
The SPOT is an initiative launched by ThinkSport and its partners, the SwissTech Convention Center, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the City of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud.
ThinkSport is an organisation that fosters the connections and collaborations between the different actors of the sports universe around the Olympic Capital, Lausanne, across Switzerland and beyond.
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