Under the theme “Transcending Entertainment Beyond Reality and Virtuality”, the three-day forum brings together more than 50 overseas and local speakers to share industry insights, and delve into the future trends of the metaverse in sectors of entertainment, art and sports. DELF also presents for the first time a metaverse arena on metaverse platform Decentraland, to bring the public an immersive experience. Over 10 esports tournaments and show matches, as well as more than 30 game experiences covering the metaverse, art technology and sports technology are presented to offer enjoyable, innovative and immersive digital entertainment experiences. Tech experiences and workshops with application in various industries are also open for participation.

In his welcome remarks, Simon Chan, Chairman of Cyberport says, “The metaverse is opening exciting new horizons, allowing people to communicate and engage with the world in entirely new ways, while creating new avenues for industries to transform business models and value chains. Cyberport has continued to support start-ups and entrepreneurs to capitalise on new opportunities in the metaverse for sectors like digital entertainment and esports, education and art. Their creative ideas will set examples for everything from content and design to social interaction and business expansion. Cyberport and our start-up community look forward to joining hands with partners and stakeholders to take our innovative explorations beyond bounds of reality and virtuality.”

In his opening remarks, Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR says, “All along, Cyberport has been committed to supporting digital entertainment and e-sports as one of its three clusters. We all witnessed some exciting developments in recent years: the very first gaming unicorn in Hong Kong, and e-sports being a medal sport in the Asian Games in Hangzhou next year. Digitalisation is inevitable in driving our economy towards high-quality development. With the unwavering support from the Central Government in the National 14th Five-Year Plan, and the encouraging support to Hong Kong’s I&T development by President Xi during his recent visit to Hong Kong, this term of Government will endeavour to step up efforts in driving the digital economy development in Hong Kong.”

Celebrating the new prospects brought by the evolution into Web 3.0, DELF is held in a hybrid mode of online and in-person participation. The Main Forum has invited over 50 esteemed industry leaders from notable international and local technology companies, including Animoca Brands, Meta, Autodesk, Accenture, Epic Games, The Sandbox and more, to examine the strategies for true integration of digital entertainment and daily life, and dissect hot topics like Non-Fungible Token (NFT), Move-to-Earn, branding in the metaverse, ArtTech and Esports. This offers a holistic overview of the next-gen digital entertainment ecosystem, guiding industry practitioners to explore the infinite and boundless metaverse and unlock the multitude of opportunities therein.

More than comprehensive industry insights, DELF is enriched by elements of art and sports this year. The Experience Zone features EXPOVERSE, an immersive virtual reality (VR) art gallery tour experience, Digital Cave comprising of 8,200 LEDs, Quantum Universe which is an interactive projection that leads participants into the abstract world of space, and the InkCube 3D immersive art experience. These eye-opening artistic installations are Instagram-worthy, enabling a relaxing moment in the hustle and bustle of a city life. Furthermore, the 5^th Hong Kong Projection Mapping Festival, an annual ArtTech event in STEM education, will exhibit the work of primary and secondary students from 8 schools to the public at Cyberport 3.

The Experience Zone also stages sports-related booths, from Dustland Rider, the world’s first move-to-earn fitness blockchain game, to various technologies designed for athletic training in basketball, tennis, shooting and car racing, among others. With Dribble Tracker – AI sports coach by V360, real-time analytics for next-generation tennis tournaments and training by eyes3, VAR BOX which is an exciting collection of shooting games in a VR environment, as well as e-boxing or e-cycling exercises enabled by motion sensors, these SportsTech simulations will captivate visitors with brand-new sensory experiences arising from the integration of digital entertainment and technology.

DELF has again invited students and professional esports players for show matches and selection tournaments this year. Competitions on the first day include the Hong Kong E-Dodgeball Selection Tournament, the RoboMaster Youth Championship 2022 (Hong Kong), the Yesports University League x Master Duel Tournament (South East Asia), the 2022 HKDSA Junior Racer Drone Racing Competition, the FIFAe Showmatch by HK eFootball Representative Team, and the Virtual FPV Drone Racing Show Match to be simultaneously broadcasted live and online. Esports enthusiasts will find these events unmissable.

The spotlight activity tomorrow, APRU MetaGame Conference 2022, organised by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), will cover policy discussions on building an inclusive esports ecosystem and next-generation learning. There will be other exciting esports tournaments like the Microsoft Interschool Minecraft e-Sport Champions League, the SEFHK Invitational Tournament and the APRU Rampage Invitational. DELF workshops and experience zones will remain open until Sunday.

For more details on the event and the full list of speakers, please visit the DELF 2022 website: http://delf.cyberport.hk/

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Under the theme “Transcending Entertainment Beyond Reality and Virtuality”, the three-day forum brings together over 50 esteemed overseas and local speakers.

The opening ceremony of the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum 2022 features Hong Kong-made world rope skipping champion Cheung Pak Hung (center), Hong Kong break dancer B Boy C Plus (right) and post-90s Erhuist Wan Pin Chu (left) to bring a performance blending the real world and the virtual world to the public.

Cyberport’s annual signature event, “Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum” officially opens today. The Guests of Honours are (L to R): Dr Yu Sheng Gao, Inspectors at Level 2, Department of Youth Affairs, Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong S.A.R., Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR, Simon Chan, BBS, JP, Chairman of Cyberport, Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport.

Professor Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR states in his remark that this term of Government will endeavour to step up efforts in driving the digital economy development in Hong Kong.

In his welcome remarks, Simon Chan, Chairman of Cyberport, says Cyberport is focused on promoting digital entertainment and esports industry through extensive of activities and initiatives that help local players tab new connections, explore business opportunities and nurture talents.

Mr Sebastien Borget, Co-Founder & COO of The Sandbox, Mr Erich Wong, Head of Growth (Hong Kong), The Sandbox, Ms Becky Wong, Co-founder & COO, INDEX GAME, Mr Kenny Ng, Founder of PANGU by Kenal share their insights in creating user experiences beyond metaverse entertainment amid rapid changes and information explosion.

Philip Chua, Head of Instagram Public Policy, APAC, Meta (left) discusses with Bernie Wong, Founder of Social Stand (right), on how this new wave that has swept across the world will reshape the way we socialise.

Hashtag: #Cyberport

About Cyberport

Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 1,800 members including over 800 on-site and 900 off-site start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology, thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent, promoting entrepreneurship among youth, supporting start-ups, fostering industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economic by accelerating digital transformation in the public and private sectors.

For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk