{"id":434506,"date":"2025-09-18T21:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/434506\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T21:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:22:10","slug":"worlds-biggest-esports-festival-coming-to-the-west-midlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/434506\/","title":{"rendered":"World’s biggest esports festival coming to the West Midlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

DreamHack<\/a> and ESL One<\/a>, two of the world\u2019s biggest events in gaming and esports, will be held in the West Midlands in March next year.<\/p>\n

DreamHack Birmingham, at the NEC, will be the first ever festival held on UK soil in its 20+ year history, bringing together all gaming communities to celebrate games, esports and internet pop culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Featuring one of the most prestigious esports tournaments, ESL One, returns to the UK for its fourth iteration, with a $1M prize pool, showcasing 16 of the world\u2019s best Dota 2 teams. It will take place at the bp pulse LIVE at the NEC.<\/p>\n

Esports is part of the fast-growing digital and creative industries that are at the heart of the West Midlands\u00a0Growth Plan<\/a>\u00a0as one of the high growth sectors that will drive the economy into a new era of prosperity.<\/p>\n

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:\u00a0\u201cEsports has exploded into one of the fastest-growing parts of our economy. Our arenas are buzzing with global fans and players for events like DreamHack and ESL One.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us it\u2019s much more than entertainment. Our colleges and universities are full of young talent learning the skills to succeed in this multi-billion-pound industry.<\/p>\n

“And with world-class studios already here, and backing from gaming\u2019s biggest names, we\u2019re making the West Midlands the UK\u2019s number one place to create, watch and play esports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cllr Karen Grinsell, leader of Solihull Council, said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted that we are welcoming yet another huge Esports event to the NEC in Solihull, building on our reputation as the UK\u2019s top Esports destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve shown time and time again that we can leverage our prime location, excellent facilities and the growing digital and creative sector here to make these events a real success, while also bringing huge economic benefits to our hospitality and visitor economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shahin Zarrabi, VP Festivals at ESL FACEIT Group, said: \u201cThe UK has one of the world\u2019s most passionate gaming communities, yet it\u2019s still underserved when it comes to festivals that unite every part of gaming culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re bringing DreamHack to Birmingham \u2014 a city with a proven track record and the perfect stage for our UK debut. We\u2019re here for the long term: to invest, grow, and build something even bigger together with the community.<\/p>\n

\u00c1lvaro S\u00e1nchez Velasco, Product Manager Dota 2 at ESL FACEIT Group, said: \u201cReturning to Birmingham with ESL One is a huge moment for us and the Dota 2 community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year is even more special as we join forces with DreamHack to create a truly unique festival atmosphere. We can\u2019t wait to bring the best of Dota 2 esports to a city that has shown us so much passion over the years we’ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cheering<\/p>\n

The UK has rapidly established itself as one of Europe\u2019s fastest-growing esports markets, with revenues set to hit $250.7 million in 2025 (Statista, 2025<\/a>) and user numbers projected to reach nearly 24 million by 2029 (Statisa, 2025<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Home to nearly 40 million gamers nationwide (Statista, 2024<\/a>), esports is now both a cultural and economic force in the UK \u2014 and DreamHack festivals, which reach over 200,000 visitors globally and tens of millions online, are perfectly positioned to bring this vibrant community together on one stage.<\/p>\n

The West Midlands is responsible for one quarter of the UK\u2019s output in the sector and home to 130 gaming companies with esports centres at\u00a0Solihull College and Warwick University.<\/p>\n

DreamHack is the world\u2019s leading gaming lifestyle festival bringing together all gaming communities to celebrate games and internet pop culture.<\/p>\n

Across three days, between March 27 – 29, DreamHack Birmingham will invite fans to explore esports tournaments, cosplay, live music, creators, tabletop games, and so much more, all in one vibrant, community-driven space.<\/p>\n

The iconic festival comes to the UK following celebrated stints across the globe, including in Europe, North America and Asia.<\/p>\n

ESL One is one of the biggest and renowned Dota 2 tournament series that brings together the best teams and players from around the world.<\/p>\n

Between March 22 \u2013 29\u00a016 teams will compete in a round robin format, with 8-team double-elimination Playoffs.<\/p>\n

The final three days of the competition will take place in front of a live audience.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s ESL One Birmingham saw a peak viewership of over 327,000.<\/p>\n

Over 18,000 fans from across the world attended the bp pulse LIVE on the final three days of the tournament, witnessing Team Falcons taking home the trophy.<\/p>\n

Ian Taylor, managing director of the NEC, said: “We\u2019re thrilled to welcome ESL One Birmingham back to the NEC and we’re equally excited to host DreamHack for the very first time.<\/p>\n

“We’re perfectly located for bringing gaming communities together from across the globe, and we can’t wait to host one of the biggest gaming events in the calendar!”<\/p>\n

Bobby Hare, director host city partnerships at ESL FACEIT Group, said: “Securing Birmingham as the host city for both DreamHack and ESL One is a huge milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past 12 months, the West Midlands Growth Company and the NEC Group have been incredibly supportive partners, and we\u2019re excited to be back in Birmingham. The city\u2019s vibrant gaming community and our shared vision for long-term growth make it the perfect home to deliver unforgettable experiences for UK fans.<\/p>\n

Tickets can be purchased from September 23 at dreamhack.com<\/a>\/birmingham<\/a> and esl-one.com\/birmingham<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DreamHack and ESL One, two of the world\u2019s biggest events in gaming and esports, will be held in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,38480,11033,2766,1700,35,393,728,4884,6333,1302,38482,38481,22793,1263,16,15,4950,7858],"class_list":{"0":"post-434506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-combined-authority","11":"tag-communities","12":"tag-culture","13":"tag-economy","14":"tag-energy","15":"tag-england","16":"tag-environment","17":"tag-great-britain","18":"tag-housing","19":"tag-innovation","20":"tag-land","21":"tag-local-authorities","22":"tag-skills","23":"tag-transport","24":"tag-uk","25":"tag-united-kingdom","26":"tag-wellbeing","27":"tag-west-midlands"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115227403688687659","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}