In case you missed the news, TEDx is making its debut in Warrington this June.

As organisers enter the final stages of event preparation and speaker rehearsals, excitement has been building in the region and particularly in the local business community which has rallied to support this non-commercial event.

When tickets for the inaugural event were released mid-May, they sold out in 39 minutes; the surge in demand resulted in a momentary website crash causing the team at Beech Web Services to invoke their back up plan and switch server. The sell-out resulted in the rapid release of further tickets that day and a waitlist system was put in place to give those signed up advance notice of further tickets and future events.

You’d be forgiven for viewing the ticket rush as being akin to the hype of a large festival. The enthusiasm for the arrival of the TEDx brand into Warrington has certainly been significant and just days later led to reports of fake ticket sales* which the organisers swiftly dealt with.

TEDxWarrington licensee and Organiser, Kirsty James, commented,

“We’ve been astounded by how the event has been received in the town and the unprecedented demand for tickets. We’d love to have said yes to everyone but, alas, the conditions of this town-based TEDx licence restrict attendee numbers at the live event”.

For the lucky 100 who have tickets, the programme seems set to entertain, educate and inspire based on the profiles and commentary being written by Lucy Jackman of Comma Sense Ltd on the official TEDxWarrington website and by Becs Bate of Social Media Executive on the social channels. With talks on topics as diverse as mental health, conservation, neurodiversity, wheelchair skills, music and comedy, the evening promises an enriched programme dedicated to its theme ‘Build Connection and Strengthen Communities’.

It was of paramount importance to the organising team that the speaker application process be open, impartial and fair to facilitate access by ordinary people with great ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’.

The Warrington event, unlike some TEDx events, also offered speaker candidates a dedicated support and coaching programme. Organisers purposefuly engaged the services of TEDx speaker coach and former TEDx speaker, Catherine Sandland, to lead the programme. Speakers have also had the ongoing support of core team member James Perryman, trainer at Momentus and vice president of the NW Professional Speaking Association, and Andrew Thorp, three-time TEDx speaker and storytelling coach who will also be the event host.

The final programme will be released just before the event runs live but speaker profiles now feature on the website. Speakers have revealed how hard it was to keep the secret of their selection in March but have commended the organising team on the unbelievable support during an emotional and life-changing experience. An accolade indeed for all involved.

All talks will be filmed by Paul Chadwick of local video production business Prism Studios. Talks will be submitted to TED for approval for eventual display on the official TEDx YouTube Channel.

An event of this magnitude cannot of course occur without significant support. Along with the core organising team and external support team, who have worked tirelessly and voluntarily on this event, there is an exhaustive list of event partners and sponsors, all of whom are active in the Warrington region.

From the infamous red spot carpet donated by Smart Furnishings through to the set design by The Odd Thing; the hosting of the planned reception event at San Lorenzo to the photography by Andrew Collier at Just Headshots and Jane Burkinshaw of Love your Lens; the event truly speaks volumes about collaboration, planning and organisation by organiser Kirsty, supported operationally by Gill Fletcher of Advanced VA.

Thanks must also be extended to sponsoring parties for sharing the TEDx passion and values and financially supporting this event. This extensive list so far includes: MKM Building Supplies, Rebecca Wray Coaching Consultancy, AND Digital, Joanna Williams Psychology & Wellbeing, Warrington & Co, EML, Show the Light, Adele Carr Recruitment, DATS and Warrington Worldwide as the official media partner.

For further information about the TEDxWarrington, the team, the speakers, event partners and sponsors visit www.tedxwarrington.com or email organisingteam@tedxwarrington.co.uk

* Fake Ticket Warning
Anyone in possession of a ticket has been emailed by the Parr Hall box office with specific instructions that allow for cross-checking of ticket details with the organisers door entry system. Anyone concerned about their ticket validity or who may have had a change of plan and now require a refund, should contact the organising team at organisingteam@tedxwarrngton.co.uk

ENDS

Picture
Behind the scenes shots from Matthew Jackman, furniture maker at Warrington-based The Odd Thing, who has produced the TEDxWarrington letters for the stage.

Editors Notes

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED

TED is a non-profit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, often in the form of short talks delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED conferences, including our annual gathering in Vancouver, as well as TEDWomen, intimate TED Salons and thousands of independently organized TEDx events around the world. Videos of these talks are made available, free, on TED.com and other platforms. Audio versions of the talks from TED2019 are published to TED’s podcast TED Talks Daily, available on all podcast platforms.

TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; TEDx, which licenses thousands of individuals and groups to host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities; the Audacious Project, which surfaces and funds critical ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives; TEDSummit, which gathers the most engaged members of the global TED community for brainstorms, discussions, performances, workshops and an eclectic program of mainstage talks; and the educational initiative TED-Ed. TED also has a growing library of original podcasts, including The TED Interview with Chris Anderson, WorkLife with Adam Grant, TED en Español and Sincerely, X.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED, on Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences.