DLD Sports Valencia: Global leaders debate sport’s next chapter in the city’s innovation district

International conference at La Marina connects AI, performance technology, investment and the future fan experience

DLD Sports will bring an international group of athletes, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists and media leaders to Valencia on September 5 to examine how technology is changing sport and how sport is becoming a laboratory for innovation, investment and social change.

Taking place at Base2 on Saturday, September 5, DLD Sports Valencia connects the city’s growing innovation ecosystem with global developments in artificial intelligence, data analytics, robotics, wearables, new media formats and personalized nutrition science. The conference will explore how these technologies are changing the way athletes train, teams operate, fans engage and sports businesses grow.

Valencia’s waterfront and La Marina provide a fitting setting for this conversation. The city has a strong track record of hosting major international sporting events, while La Marina has developed into a meeting point for innovation, entrepreneurship and investment. Against this backdrop, DLD Sports will examine how sport is influencing technology, business, cities and society — and how developments in these fields are changing sport in return.

Confirmed speakers include Juan Fuentes Fernández (GSIC Powered by Microsoft), Lea-Sophie Cramer (Epix Sports), footballer Merel van Dongen, Alexander R. Thiel (Altor Equity Partners), Anahita Thoms (Backer McKenzie), Christian Teichmann (Burda Principal Investments), Thomas Ehemann (FC Bayern München), Roald van Buuren (ELO) and Dominik Schreyer (WHU), among others.

The programme will address questions including:

• How is artificial intelligence changing coaching, scouting, injury prevention and decision-making?
• Why is sport becoming an increasingly attractive asset class for investors, media companies and global brands?
• How are wearables, sensors, robotics, prosthetics and biomechanics reshaping performance and access?
• What will make live sport more valuable as digital content becomes increasingly abundant?
• How are women’s sports becoming a cultural, commercial and technological force?
• How can sport contribute to the identity, innovation ecosystem and international profile of cities?

DLD Sports Valencia is designed as a focused afternoon conference combining talks, panels and conversations with high-quality networking. Doors open at 1:00 pm. The main programme runs from 2:30 to 6:30 pm, followed by rooftop cocktails and networking with views across the Mediterranean.

 "This World Cup summer proved what sport can do: unite nations without translation. That is DLD's terrain—the unexpected connections, the conversations between people who would never otherwise meet. For over twenty years, we have had the instinct to identify topics before they become mainstream. Sport is this chapter: for professionals, for everyone who treats their body as an investment. Valencia is the right place to negotiate this future."

Steffi Czerny & Alessia Sinzger, Co-CEOs, DLD

Tickets & Applications

Places at DLD Sports Valencia are limited. Applications for tickets and an invitation can now be submitted online via the official DLD website.