‘Must have’ tickets sell out in record time
23 Ionawr 2012
The 'must have' ticket of 2012 has sold out in record time today following the announcement of speakers from TEDxCardiff.
On Saturday 31st March 2012 a full theatre will eagerly await to see speakers share their ideas on science, art, creativity and adventure at the Wales Millennium Centre.
After tickets went on sale today (23 January) at 10am the event sold out after just 20 minutes, breaking the record for fastest selling tickets and confirming the event as a highlight in Cardiff's calendar for 2012.
The event, sponsored by Cardiff University is the third annual event to take place in Wales. Selling out it less than an hour last year, this year's event is set to be bigger and better having now broken that record.
TEDxCardiff is organised entirely by volunteers in their spare time, and has been made possible by the input of organisations working closely together including Cardiff University as lead sponsor, Sequence, Huw David Design, Crimzn, and the Wales Millennium Centre. The volunteers are led by entrepreneur Neil Cocker, and co-founder of Cardiff Web Scene, Claire Scantlebury.
"After selling out in under an hour last year we were confident that we'd sell out again this year, but to do it in 20 minutes is beyond our wildest expectations." Organiser Neil Cocker commented, "We're over the moon and are now even more determined to make it a very special event."
The line-up for TEDxCardiff was announced last week and amongst the ten most inspiring and forward thinking speakers and performers are four academics from the University: Professor Justin Lewis from the School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies; Dr Jacqui Mulville from the School of History, Archaeology & Religion; Professor Bangalore Sathyaprakash from the School of Physics & Astronomy and Professor Jonathan Shepherd from the School of Dentistry.
"I'm delighted to be taking part in such a rich festival of ideas - along with people with a passion for communicating those ideas," says Professor Lewis whose inspiring talk will look at how our cultural and information industries keep us on the treadmill of consumption - and how they limit our vision of what constitutes progress.
"The more we have, the less value each new possession has. And most alarmingly, the economic growth it encourages is enormously damaging to our environment, with potentially disastrous consequences," he added.
Professor Lewis will present his vision for a cultural environment that encourages rather than stifles new ideas about what guides our economy and society.
Those without a ticket can join the thousands who watch the talks live each year. Last year the event received a huge online following with people from 20 countries around the world watching live streaming on the day. Some of these talks have received more than 135,000 views online to date.
TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) is an annual conference that has gained a global reputation largely thanks to its inspirational speakers. Since its inception in 1984, TED has grown into a world- renowned forum, attracting the likes of Al Gore, Jane Goodall and Bill Gates. The conference ethos of 'ideas worth spreading' is made available on a more local basis through licensed TEDx events.
TEDxCardiff 2012 will be held at the Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday 31st March from 2pm. The event will be streamed live online for those without a ticket. If you would like to keep up to date with the event you can register your details at www.TEDxCardiff.co.uk.