Sport is the ultimate arena where technology, business, culture and community come together, as you’ll hear in this DLD Sports opening session, which sets the stage for DLD’s first conference in Valencia, Spain.
DLD founder Steffi Czerny opens by explaining the two-decade mission that’s been driving DLD: not trying to predict the future but recognizing signals, detecting patterns and ultimattely “connecting the unexpected.”
Marián Cano García, Valencia’s regional minister for industry, tourism, innovation and trade, argues that sport “can no longer be understood solely through the lens of competition.” It is equally about innovation, health, investment and industry, she says – driven by AI, advanced data, wearables, biomechanics, robotics and fan engagement
As the home of the 2007 America’s Cup, Valencia provides the perfect setting for the event, Christian Teichmann, board member at Hubert Burda Media, notes. The venue has special significance, he points out, as it was the German team’s boat shed during the sailing competition.
Today, Base 2, where the event was held, forms “the heart of the startup ecosystem here in Valencia”, Teichmann says. “And I think this is how sports can contribute to a sustainable development of a city.”
Juan Luis Hortelano, President of Startup Valencia, highlights the sucess of this transformation. With Lanzadera, the city is now home to “one of the biggest incubators” in the world, he says. It has many successful startups, and “the tech ecosystem is built on top of what used to be a sport zone.”
SHFT Sports founder Mike Marqués highlights SailGP, a new sailing competition, as an example of how a traditionally hard-to-follow sport is being redesigned for modern audiences – with augmented-reality graphics, short-course racing and major prize money.
