The Metaverse and Live Events: What’s Next?

July 13, 2022

Marco Giberti

Marco Giberti is a successful entrepreneur and investor with more than 25 years of intensive experience in media, technology and the live events industry. He is the founder and CEO of Vesuvio Ventures, where he works with startups, venture and private equity investors, and corporate innovators as a coach, advisor, interim executive, board member or angel investor (or a combination thereof). He is also a co-author of the best-selling books “The Face of Digital,” focusing on how digital technologies are changing the live events industry, and “Reinventing Live, the Always-On Future of Live Events.”

If you’re like me, you are probably tired of and confused by reading and listening to different opinions about the metaverse these days.

From Facebook changing their name to Meta to Disney’s CEO saying that Disney+ will be their own metaverse as well as Microsoft paying 70 billion dollars for Activision as part of their metaverse strategy, the list of big tech and media companies investing billions of dollars in the "metaverse category" continues to grow exponentially. 

So what is the metaverse? Today, it is a series of different concepts but still hard to explain. Broadly speaking, the technologies that make up the metaverse include, among others, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), combining digital and physical world interactions while simultaneously including the digital economy, and potentially very soon, some gaming experiences like Fortnite, a digital concert, a digital meeting with 3D avatars and even holograms, with the list going on and on.

At this point, if you are a marketing, media or events person, you probably already know that some (or many of these use cases) could dramatically change your job, business and industry.

Fad or Game-Changer?

Is this metaverse thing just a buzzword or great marketing from some tech companies? Who knows, only time will tell. But I think we should pay attention. In a way, not paying attention to Netflix was not a good thing for Blockbuster, and not paying attention to the early days of social media was not a good idea for many media industry giants. If this metaverse thing is real, and we learn fast and become early adopters, our chances of improving our live event experiences could be better, but if it's just a buzzword and short-term thing, we could simply go back to our comfort zone.

If you know me or my company, you probably know that I've focused on live events, media and tech for the last three decades. During this time, I’ve seen some interesting changes and learned some hard lessons. When I co-wrote “Reinventing Live” in 2020 during the early days of COVID-19, we never thought that this pandemic could last for so long and change the world, so many lives and businesses in such a dramatic way. But we knew back then, and even more so today, that the live events industry, a multi-trillion-dollar global business, including sports, music, trade shows, festivals, conferences, etc., would be impacted and needed to be reinvented. There are many technologies affecting the way that live events could and should be reinvented, but the metaverse as a concept could be one of the biggest game-changers.

Why? Let's think of some potential case studies. One of the industries we should all focus on, learn about and analyze if we are organizing traditional events is gaming. Why gaming? If you want to understand the perfect virtual event, you should watch a Twitch stream and analyze the way those communities are interacting or simply watch your kids playing a Discord gaming party. You may also take a look at the way that Peloton Lanebreak could be interacting with their new product in a combination of a fitness, gaming and metaverse sort of environment or how Tony Robbins reinvented his live events business.

Technology and the Reinvention of Events

After decades of comfortable and sustainable growth, the live events industry was disrupted like never before due to COVID-19. Now, after only a couple of years of learning and experimenting, we realized that technology could be our best partner for reinventing this massive industry as we move into the future. I'm convinced that we saw a couple of decades of innovation in less than two years around the live events industry, and it is clear that the pace of innovation and technology engagement is certainly not going to slow down. On top of this, we see all big tech companies (Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, etc.) investing billions of dollars into metaverse-related technologies and educating the whole world about this new thing—potentially, the next big thing.

I’ve mentioned many times that I'm convinced that face-to-face events are not going away. But now, I'm also convinced that virtual and hybrid events are going to stay around and play a significant role in the future of our industry. It's too early to be very dogmatic in this concept, but I speak with smart entrepreneurs and investors on a daily basis who are actively building new concepts and ideas combining offline and online event experiences using some of these technologies.

I asked the question, Metaverse and Live Events, What's Next?” as the title on this blog, and I certainly don't have a definitive answer, but I'm making a conscious effort to keep learning and finding different examples coming from outside the "classic events world" and understanding how these technologies could have a positive impact on the live events industry. I shared some of those examples here around gaming or classic events like Tony Robbins’ new way of organizing his events. Are these examples going to change post-COVID? Probably not. Or they probably will combine the best of both worlds: a great face-to-face, in-real-life experience in parallel to virtual and hybrid activations. What really matters is that this time, we should pay attention, since, as businesspeople, we certainly don't want to be the next Blockbuster.

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Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact