Festival of Media moves to Valencia

The Festival of Media was founded in 2007 in order to reflect profound changes taking place in global communications. The event brings together senior advertisers, media strategists, agencies and media owners to discuss the new business models and working relationships brought about by digital technology, convergence, the development of content, the rise of mobile and the globalisation of advertising budgets.

“Venice was a perfect place to launch The Festival of Media in 2007 and I hope that all of those who attended will remember it as a special occasion and one which set in motion a successful global brand and something that has unified the industry,” said Charlie Crowe, chief executive of C Squared, producers of The Festival of Media. “But the 2008 event saw a tripling in the numbers of sponsors and delegates and we had to assess whether Venice as a city could cope with a similar increase in demand next year.”

The change of city will result in a smoother event, with delegates forgoing the genteel beauty of La Serenissima for a sunnier climate, easier transportation and world-beating futuristic venues. Valencia, which recently hosted Formula One's new European Grand Prix and also the 32nd America's Cup, has invested in a number of venues and new infrastructure to attract major global events to its shores. The senior level of The Festival of Media's partners, which this year included media brands such as the BBC, Discovery, Eurosport, ESPN, Microsoft, Viacom, Vodafone and Yahoo! - as well as all the major media agency networks - was an indicator that the festival needed to move to a place which offered the opportunity for scale.

The booking website opens in October 2009 with the provisional programme being released in November 2009, with a number of new additions to the festival to be announced over the coming weeks.

The four key reasons for moving

• Europe's new “City of Cool”
  In newspapers and travel magazines across the world, Valencia is being hailed as one of the globe's most exciting cities.
  On explaining the choice of Valencia, Charlie Crowe commented: “This year, Spain has been winning our tennis tournaments, picking up our football trophies and resurgent Spanish businesses appear to be buying up all our banks, airports and creating the coolest brands. Perhaps all this was in our thoughts when we visited! Valencia has everything the festival needs, and more - and will allow us to create an even better experience for our delegates and commercial partners.”

• Venues of global stature and global responsibility
  The conference will be housed in the Norman Foster-designed Palacio de Congresos de Valencia, a facility that recently announced its low carbon status through roof-mounted solar panels that supply all of the venue's electricity needs, as well as supplying power back into the national grid.

• A commitment to costs
  Hotel costs are, on average, 36% cheaper than Venice. Getting around Valencia will also be less expensive, with a single Venetian water taxi bill amounting to a single day's worth of cabs.

• A smoother ride
  “Our feedback from the festival this year suggested that delegates wanted to make full use of their limited time, especially to network with the extremely high calibre of delegates that attended the event. So the waiting times for water taxis and the inherent sprawling nature of this amazing city were becoming more of a hindrance than a benefit,” said Charlie Crowe.