Tuesday 21 August saw the launch of the largest ever Campus Party in Berlin’s former Tempelhof airport. Richard George, roving reporter from Telefónica UK, joins 10,000 of Europe’s brightest tech minds and takes over the O2 Blog to share his experience of the grand opening…
The 23rd Campus Party began with a bang as over 10,000 techies from 77 countries gathered for the world’s biggest tech fest, looking at some of the latest technologies and innovations, each keen to learn more from a plethora of specialities. These include hardware, robotics, greentech, nanotechnology, hacking, social media, entrepreneurship and the list goes on…
The ceremony was attended by a range of high profile guests, showing the importance that is now put on the technology sectors, and the involvement of young people in them. Philipp Rössler (German Economy Minister) mentioned how it was fitting to have such an event in Berlin, and how Berlin is leading the German drive in this sector. Paco Ragageles (Campus Party Founder) spoke briefly about his excitement at being able to open the largest gathering of his creation yet.
Peter Rampling (Marketing Director, Telefonica Germany) reflected on the importance that the Tempelhof airport played in the Berlin airlift 64 years ago, and how today it is playing another important role in steering the future direction of technology and innovation. He also emphasised the importance of “connecting people”.
The ceremony culminated in an exciting countdown, followed by impressively cued natural display of thunder and lightning, before the ‘campuseros’ began coding, networking, and playing video games late into the night.
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