DreamHack, the world’s largest digital festival, has chosen once againFeria Valencia, for the sixth year in a row, to host its exclusive event in Spain.
The festival started yesterday in the exhibition centre. It will occupy during four days four of the main pavilions, where different parts of the exhibition, demonstrations, contests, sleeping area and parking will be distributed. The fact is that DreamHack will bring together more than 30,000 young people “who will share their passion for the youtubers, music, video games, cosplay and other phenomena of the new digital culture that since the Internet explosion have conquered the attention of new generations”, according to the organization.
One of the most popular elements of Dreamhack is the LAN area, where more than 2000 participants are connected with their computers to the fibre high-speed network installed year after year by Movistar, to compete in their favorite games throughout the day and night. There is also a bedroom area where the participants can take a rest and recharge their energy. The atmosphere in the LAN area remembers the festivals of electronic music but with one bid difference: alcohol and tobacco are prohibited in DreamHack.
The official E-sports competitions are celebrated in an adjacent pavilion to the LAN area, where over €250,000 in prizes will be given out. E-Sports, or electronic sports, are official competitions of video games which in recent years have become a true global phenomenon, with massive events held around the world and broadcasts live followed by millions of people. This edition of Dreamhack Valencia is attended by more than 600 players coming from the five continents to compete in tournaments of Starcraft 2, CS, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and League of Legends, among others. More than 30 000 visitors can follow the tournaments on giant screens, while hundreds of thousands of spectators will follow them through broadcasts live from more than 60 countries.
In the EXPO area, visitors can participate in all activities and see in first hand the latest novelties presented by more than 30 companies in the sector of technology and video game. In this edition Dreamhack Valencia has doubled revenues by exhibiting companies, which confirms the good health of the industry.
And for the young people , Dreamhack is the annual meeting for to take a look at the news of the Nintendo area, play a game of Laser Game and see their idols youtubers, who every year come to Valencia to meet in person their fans and participate in activities and contests. In this Edition, there will be more than 20 youtubers present at the event, which altogether add up to more than 5 million subscribers to its channels.
DreamHack was born in 1995 in Sweden. The festival has several Guinness records for the major number of electronic devices connected in network, greater volume of data and the fastest network speed. In 2010 it started its international expansion with the celebration of the first Dreamhack Valencia, and today has face-to-face events in France, UK, Russia, Germany, Romania and the United States. Broadcasts of their competitions are followed by more than 70 million people around the world.
