On April 12-13, in Tbilisi, in Tbilisi Factory, the paths of great sports creators will cross. Europop forum: Tales of Play – this is the name of the 2-day event, which will be held in Georgia for the first time, organized by Europop.
Along with sports management and media professionals, several star footballers will share the Europop Forum stage – including Dutch legends Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert. The purpose of the forum is to become an annual meeting place for sports fans and professionals in the region. ESPN, DAZN, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, World Rugby – journalists, managers, referees, writers – guests of Europop Forum represent completely different fields and disciplines of sports, but they all have one thing in common – each of them has a story to tell.
“Normally, Georgian fans don’t have a platform where they can talk about what’s happening outside the stadium or running track. There is much more to sport than individual performances: the stories, the prospects for the future, the mental side of playing at the highest level. Sports fans will have an opportunity to talk about such issues. The audience will be able to ask the guests questions and determine the direction of the conversation themselves.” – says forum consultant Sofiko Vasadze.
A festival of this scale certainly brings together a lot of different people. In addition to Sofiko, two more founders of the ZEG festival – Keti Ebanoidze and Elene Zhvania share the experience of conducting similar events with the organizing team, while the executive part of the forum is led by the Europop team, headed by the event director Dimitri Vachnadze and the author of the idea, Misha Dumbadze.
The 2-day schedule of the event is a non-stop sporting adventure that will take place on two stages simultaneously. Individual speeches, Q&A, panel discussions, networking, film screenings and an unforgettable audio-visual performance from another famous athlete (whose identity remains a mystery for now) – the festival is a forum of regional significance in its scope and content, dedicated to the art of sports storytelling.
The festival will begin on April 12 with an opening ceremony and a conversation with Clarence Seedorf, and the main part of the program will take place on April 13 and will be crowned by a speech by Patrick Kluivert.
More information about the event and a full list of speakers is available on the festival website, and tickets are available here.
By Mariam Mtivlishvili