All the best events to attend in VR in 2020

In these hard times, we are all collecting events that we should have attended and instead got canceled. Regarding me, for instance, we’re talking about MWC, GDC, XR Europe, Svilupparty, just to name a few. Some of these events have been definitely canceled, while others have reverted to the use of VR and will be held completely in virtual reality. The most famous example concerns HTC, that this night will hold the VEC all inside ENGAGE.

I was talking about this with the amazing developer Nicolò Carpignoli, the maintainer of AR.js (for which I did a getting started guide), and he proposed me to write down a list of all the best events that will be held in virtual reality, so that all VR enthusiasts can find them in only one place. There are many meetings in VR every day, but here we want just to list the biggest ones, usually associated with a canceled event in the physical world.

The idea is that we two keep this list always up-to-date so that it can become your to-go place when you want to attend a major event in VR. Don’t hesitate to contact me at tonyvt AT skarredghost DOT com to notify me of new events that will take place in virtual reality, so that I can update this list for the whole community!

So… what big events will you be able to attend in VR?

March

V2EC

V2EC is the rebranding of the VEC, the Vive Ecosystem Conference, the annual event where HTC announces some news on its products and connects with developers and enterprises. Usually, it is held in China, but this year it is full virtual, so it has a more international touch.

When: March, 19th, 2020, 1.30 am GMT
Platform: ENGAGE
Link: https://engagevr.io/v2ec-event-registration/
Price: free

IEEE VR

The IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR) is the premier international event for the presentation of research results in the broad area of virtual reality (VR). IEEE is a godlike institution for us engineers, so expect this conference to be a bit technical. There will be researchers presenting papers, and other people listening to this knowledge.

When: March, 22-26 2020
Platform: Mozilla Hubs
Link: http://ieeevr.org/2020/attend/registration.html
Price: free for non-authors, $450 for authors

April

Break Down Those Walls!

VRrOOm, together with us of NTW, MID Studio, Virtual Worlds Festival, and Stereopsia, with the support of VRChat, has just launched the Break Down These Walls! Virtual Festival.
 
It is a beautifully crafted VRChat world where you can:

• Hang out with people and chill;
• Have a party within a small virtual discotheque, with a different party music every day;
• Watch every day a different high-quality 360 movie taken from the most famous storytelling festivals of the world (Stereopsia, Venice Film Festival, Cannes, etc…).

This is our way to help you spending your time in quarantine both having fun and watching cultural and artistic content in virtual reality. Look for the world called “VRrOOm Arts, Films and Fun” on VRChat, and enjoy your movies.

When: March,30th – May,30th
Platform: VRChat
Link: vrroom.events/
Price: Free!

Laval Virtual

The mission of Laval Virtual is to serve, inform and animate the community of users of VR/AR and immersive techniques in its BtoB uses through meeting and discussion platforms and information services.

For this “virtual” 22nd edition, Laval Virtual asserts its expertise and its role as a facilitator in virtual reality with 6 conference cycles: VRtical, TransVRsal, ConVRgence, Virtual World, Art and Tech Talk.

You will also enjoy the Recto VRso Festival (Art & VR gallery) inside of the Laval Virtual world and a little extra surprise!

Meeting key people and companies during physical events are important this is why you will be able to meet also virtually: inside of private meeting rooms, on the beach or while walking around the world!

Because business never stops, the XRBase investor event will be held in between LV Wolrd and Engage thank to the partnership with Vive X. more info and startup application here: https://www.laval-virtual.com/fr/xrbase-investor-event/

When: April 22nd, 23rd & 24th
Platform: Laval Virtual World
Link: https://www.laval-virtual.com/
Price: Free!

May

Mixed Reality Dev Days

Mixed Reality Dev Days is the main event where Microsoft discusses augmented and virtual reality technologies with its communities. It usually involves tech demos, tutorials, workshops, and panels. This year it will be held virtually, it will be free, and it will have a great keynote by Alex Kipman.

When: May 21-22 2020
Platform: AltspaceVR
Link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mixed-reality/mr-dev-days
Price: Free!

AWE USA

AWE is one of the most respected events about AR and VR, and it gathers every year professionals from every part of the world. It is managed by the famous investor Ori Inbar and usually has one edition in the US and another one in Europe. This year, AWE will be accompanied by a virtual version of the event, that it will be more or less important depending on if the physical event will be held or not.

When: May 27-29 2020
Platform: Undisclosed
Link: https://www.awexr.com/
Price: $399 ($199 in early bird)

June

VR/AR Global Summit

The VRARA association had to cancel its important worldwide events, including the summit in Lisbon. So they have decided this year to do a big online event, including all the VRARA professionals. There will also be the possibility to have 1-to-1 meetings and exhibit your products, all of this virtually.

When: June 1-3 2020
Platform: Not specified, but it will be cross-platform
Link: https://www.vrarglobalsummit.com/online-summit
Price: Free to attend, paid to exhibit or have meetings

VRTO

VRTO is Canada’s premiere immersive technologies event. A unique, international exhibition of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, professional conference and solutions-focused symposium exploring arts, culture, society, humanities, ethics and sciences through immersive technologies.

VRTO brings together the world’s leading developers, researchers, and producers in immersive media to discuss the challenges, radical changes, opportunities, and expansions in these media and technologies. It is now more than ever, critical to bring the world’s thought leaders to rebuild the roadmap for future business, education, enterprise, the arts, and society.

Transitioning to an online event, VRTO is building a platform that will help you foster meaningful exchanges, join interactive sessions, or view previously recorded webinars, roundtables, and presentations.

When: June 6-8 2020
Platform: Not specified
Link: http://conference.virtualreality.to/
Price: $72-236

Cannes XR

Cannes XR is a part of the very famous Cannes Film Festival where people can enjoy high-quality storytelling VR experiences, both 3DOF and 6DOF.

The Cannes XR Festival has some prominent figures confirmed for events, including Todd Shaiman, Head of Immersive Arts at Google, Colum Slevin, Head of Media, ARVR Experiences at Facebook, Ishita Kapur, Director, Mixed Reality Content and Partnerships at Microsoft and more.

When: 24-26 June 2020
Platform: Museum of Other Realities
Link: https://www.marchedufilm.com/programs/cannes-xr/
Price: Not clear

October

VR Awards

The VR Awards are an annual ceremony that gives recognition to the best AR/VR companies and best XR products on the market. It is a very prestigious award, and all the top people of the XR ecosystem attend its ceremony every year. I’ve been honored for having been a judge of the past 2019 edition.

When: October, 27th 2020. The pre-show will begin with a live studio panel at 6.30 pm GMT
Platform: Not specified, but it will be cross-platform
Link: https://vrawards.aixr.org/
Price: Still unknown

(Header image by VRrOOm and MID Studio)