Metaverse and storytelling feature on closing day of Sports Tomorrow Congress
This Tuesday brought the second and final day of the Sports Tomorrow Congress, the sports innovation event promoted by the Barça Innovation Hub, which this year was held as part of the Mobile World Congress.
During the morning, several sessions were scheduled in which, among other topics, metaverses and storytelling were discussed. The congress was closed by president Joan Laporta who wanted to thank all the participants for showing so much their interest.
Moore: We enter games while having coffee at home with the family
One of the most outstanding interventions of the day was that of Peter Moore, former CEO of Liverpool, who spoke about how sports are consumed through technology and audiovisuals. He talked about the metaverse and what the game experience will be like in our homes. "We will watch matches while drinking coffee at home with the family", he claims, and it will be possible to interact with augmented reality applications. Moore also explained what the stadiums of the future will be like, fully connected, in which the experience will be more complete for both spectators, referees and coaches, with three-dimensional information in real time of everything that happens on the pitch game
Television producer Amani Martin spoke about audiovisual storytelling linked to the world of sports and how it has evolved in recent years on platforms such as HBO, ESPN films and Netflix. And continuing with narrative themes, the influencer Joe Pompliano spoke of ways to reach the global audience through social networks and how to turn this into a business, something that has made him an authority on sports content in the United States.
Laporta: I am overwhelmed by a feeling of optimism for the future of our sector
President Joan Laporta spoke at the final part of the congress to perform the official closure, in which he announced the new focus of the Barça Innovation Hub towards investment in startups, which is materialising in the form of two agreements with the companies Visualfy and Oliver.
Laporta also assured that the sessions at the Sports Tomorrow Congress propose "a real change that will be beneficial" for everyone and acknowledged that he is overcome by "a feeling of optimism" for the future of the sports sector, mentioning the agreement that the club has with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center which "was the first step for the new Spotify Camp Nou to have a digital twin to try to maximize both management efficiency and the experience of our fans, which will be unique in the world."
Espai Barça also present
Among the other contents of this last day, there was a talk about Espai Barça given by Àlex Barbany, director of exploitation of the project. He revealed the details that will transform the venue into one of the most advanced sports complexes in the world. And another of the themes he explained is how virtual reality and artificial intelligence are being linked with sports medicine, research and education and how this can help improve people's lives.
The future of the football business also featured in several sessions in which the paradigm shift that the world of audiovisual rights will experience in the near future was debated. It was mentioned that the product will be less about exclusivity and more about universality, being shared on many different platforms. The debates also looked at the relationship between clubs and their fans and the strategies that must be followed to monetize this link.
The Sports Tomorrow Congress closed its sixth edition very positively, both from the point of view of the interest generated among professionals in the sports innovation sector - with more than 500 registered attendees - and in terms of the contents, since it has brought together experts of international renown on practically all the topics involved in the sports business.