METAVERSE WEEK, LONDON UK
A report on JUNE 13–17, 2022 and preview of JULY 16–22, 2022
London is still buzzing from the energy and excitement created by the first edition of an innovative new event which hit the capital in mid-June. Hot on the heels of this success, PCC is preparing for the second Metaverse Week, once again happening in London and this time focusing on the film industry.
Metaverse Week is an industry-led initiative by PCC with many partners. It is set to be a quarterly date on the calendar, with similar events planned for the length and breadth of the UK, as well as Australia and New York. There will also be industry-specific variations, as can be seen with the upcoming Film Metaverse Week.
What exactly does “metaverse” mean in this context? According to the Big Innovation Centre, one of the partners of the London event, the metaverse “refers to an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment where users, appearing as life-like avatars, can interact in three-dimensional spaces that mimic the real world.”
The first five-day event, which was planned to coincide with London Tech Week, featured the top people in the industry. CEO of Metaverse Week, Balbir Judge, said “Metaverse Week came about because of the desire from a huge number of people in the industry to have a collective voice. Coming straight after the dramatic fall in crypto currency, this was an opportunity to showcase companies and individuals in the space in a safe environment. We collaborated with a lot of speakers who were already in the UK for Tech Week, so that worked very well.”
Action-packed week
The program was full and varied. Monday began with an event in the Malta High Commission discussing the growth of Nfts, Defi and metaverse in the UK. It was hosted by the High Commissioner, Emmanuel Mallia and presented by Peter Melia, Economic Attaché at the Malta High Commission and Head of Malta Enterprise in the UK.
This was followed by an event in Parliament on behalf of the Big Innovation Centre and hosted by Lord Clement-Jones CBE. Called The Metaverse and Smart Cities, it featured speeches and presentations from metaverse engineers and developers, presenting their vision and discussing how we can best unlock the possibilities of the metaverse for Smart Cities and mitigate new potential risks. Monday ended with a Defi-NFT- Metaverse Meet-Up at the King’s Head, Mayfair which was a great networking opportunity for like-minded individuals.
The first event on Tuesday focused on a much-discussed topic — metaverse and real estate. Hosted by Here Estates at The Queen’s Arms in SW London, the lunchtime/afternoon session looked at some key questions regarding buying real world assets with crypto currency.
It was back to the Houses of Parliament next, for a lively discussion on the metaverse and the virtual world. Among the many prestigious speakers was entrepreneur Ashley Shipman, founder of Angels and Unicorns and co-founder of The Winners’ Club. You can read more of Ashley’s story here. To round off Tuesday there was a cocktail party hosted by Hoo and the world’s first DAO-based NFT, Maxity.io at Dirty Martini, Bishopsgate, London.
Wednesday was a red-letter day as it marked the 807th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, considered the first ever charter of human rights. There were a series of events on Magna Carta Island, attended by global dignitaries and key figures in the industry.
PCC’s co-founder and Chairman, Luke Sullivan, attended and signed as a founder member of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Metaverse and advisor to the Board. He also announced his plans to create a MetaCharter, a human rights charter for the metaverse and you can read more about that here. On Wednesday evening back in London there were a series of events including a Metaverse Fashion Show, a DAO career presentation, and a meet-up in Shoreditch.
The Magna Carta Island events continued on Thursday, with a day-long program of presentations around the theme of blockchain, NFTs and the metaverse. Meanwhile in London, the topic of NFTs for creatives was explored by the Big Innovation Centre at Portcullis House, while a midday show was held at the NFT Gallery, Mayfair, described as “London’s hottest NFT space” hosted by Seyi Luther Awotunde, Chief Visionary Officer of Deliciae, a luxury NFT marketplace. The NFT Gallery is a female-led space championing female NFT artists and photographers.
The week ended with two events happening simultaneously on Friday evening: At the DLT Lounge, a joint event hosted by Intercoin and Unblockers was dedicated to how the future would look in the Metaverse world in terms of life, work, and finance and incorporated blockchain, crypto and NFTs. At the same time in another part of London there was a Web3, NFT gaming, and VC networking event dedicated to venture capitalists, angel investors, gaming Investors, and NFT investors as well as 3D modelling companies.
FILM METAVERSE WEEK
The first festival was such a success that another more industry-specific one was immediately planned. Due to take place from 16–22 July, Film Metaverse Week is billed as “exploring a new way to tell stories” and is a week of in-person events in London focusing on films in the metaverse, including film production and Web3 experiences using Blockchain, VR/AR, artificial intelligence, NFTs, investment, screenwriting, animation and much more. The festival, which is being run in collaboration with the Big Innovation Centre, has a full and varied program of events, detailed below:
FRIDAY 15 JULY: 17:30–22:30. Launch of Film Metaverse Week sponsored by Spectrum NFT. Blacks Clubs, 67 Dean Street, London, W1D 4QH.
SATURDAY 16 and SUNDAY 17 JULY: 09:00–17:00. Dov Siemens’ two-day film school. America’s leading independent filmmaking instructor teaches you all the secrets to film-making in one intense weekend. Past attendees include Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, Trudy Styler, Queen Latifah, and Will Smith! University of Westminster, Cayley Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, 35 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5LS. Tickets have been pre-sold but there may still be availability on the door. (Not specifically on Metaverse).
MONDAY 18 JULY: 17:00–23:00. Mayfair Meet-Up. The King’s Head, 10 Stafford St, Greater, London, W1S 4RX. Film, metaverse, NFTs, art, DAO, Defi… come and meet like-minded individuals, network and exchange views.
TUESDAY 19 JULY: 17:00–19:00. Film in the Metaverse event hosted by the Big Innovation Centre. House of Lords, Houses of Parliament, London.
WEDNESDAY 20 JULY: 17:00–23:00. Piccadilly Meet-Up. The Comedy Pub, 7 Oxendon Street, London, SW1Y 4EE. Film, metaverse, NFTs, Web3, DAO, Defi… meet like-minded individuals, network and exchange views.
THURSDAY 21 JULY: 14:00–20:30. Magna Carta Island Summer Gathering. Magna Carta House, 1 Magna Carta Lane, Wraysbury, TW19 5AF. NFTs, film, art, DAOs, Web 3.
FRIDAY 22 JULY: 18.30–02.00. Canary Wharf Meet-Up. DLT Lounge, 2 Floor, 3 Muirfield Crescent, Bellerive House, London, E14 9SZ. Film, metaverse, NFTs, Web3, DAO, Defi… meet like-minded individuals, network and exchange views.
For further information on the events, speakers, timetable and to book tickets visit https://filmmetaverse-week.com/#partners or https://bicpavilion.com/events/the-metaverse-pavilion-and-festival
