NEXT23 approaches, and Hamburg beckons. Here’s your essential guide to what you need to know to make the most of your time in the digital heart of the very physical Reeperbahn Festival.

The Event

NEXT23 is a full day (and we mean a very full day) programme of digital insights and future trends, happening in the heart of the world-famous Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg. It’s a chance for you to both work and play hard at the cutting edge of the digital transformation of culture.

The full schedule is now online, and the majority of the sessions will be happening in the Schmidts Tivoli on Reeperbahn. In the late afternoon, we’ll be moving elsewhere in the city — see the Venues section below for more details.

More than just a conference

While your ticket gets you access to the NEXT Conference, there’s more to it than that. You also get:

• Priority access to all public Reeperbahn Festival concerts on Sept 21
• Access to the conference programme of the Reeperbahn Festival
• Access to re:publica
  

Both the Reeperbahn Festival and re:publica run until Sept 23, and we have some suggested sessions that you might enjoy.

The Theme: Let’s Get Physical

With NEXT23’s theme, Let’s Get Physical, we’re exploring the exciting fusion of the digital and physical worlds, known as the phygital world. With AI as one of the driving forces bringing systemic change, we’ll delve into the profound impact on our cities, workplaces, perception, and even our behaviour.

We have speakers covering everything from the way our perceptions influence the way we think, to the neglected role of our biology. But we’ll also be exploring the less predictable ways we could use AI and the limits of the use of data analysis.

It will be a surprising, unpredictable and inuring journey through the liminal space where physical and digital meet.

Why Attend?

If you fancy a full-day gathering of curious minds, digital-savvy decision-makers, marketers, strategists, innovators, thought leaders, creative thinkers and doers from across industries, then we’re the conference for you.

And it’s not just going to be sitting passively in the auditorium, listening to speakers. We have music in the venue, and a whole schedule of workshops and deep dives going on in the afternoon and early evening. This expanded programme is your chance to experience immersive discussions, cutting-edge tech trends, and connect with international experts.

How NEXT feels

Networking

And, of course, there will be plenty of chances to network with other like-minded folks, in the coffee breaks during the main sessions, in the breakout venues in the afternoon — and in the conference ending drinks at GAGA at the end of the day.

Venues

The main part of the conference will be in our long-term home: the Schmidts Tivoli Theatre on the Reeperbahn. And it’s a genuine theatre, not an auditorium in a conference centre. While we’ll have this beautiful old building during the day, by the evening it’ll be back in use as a theatre. And that means that, once the main conference sessions are done, NEXT23 spreads out across Hamburg, with a choice of afternoon sessions.

Between 3.15 pm and 8.50 pm, we have workshops, discussions, and talks at a range of venues, including:

• Gassenhaur
• Glanz and Gloria
• GAGA
• The Baby Goat Barn
  

Finally, we’ll all come together to celebrate in GAGA, high above the Reeperbahn.

Read more about the NEXT23 venues.

Livestream & Social Media

No digital event is complete without an online component. We’ll have a livestream running from the main stage, and videos of the majority of the sessions will be available after the event.

Want to keep track of what’s happening in real time, and hear the thoughts and experiences of fellow attendees? We’ll be posting on all our normal social media channels, but you can also follow these hashtags to get a taste of what’s happening in Hamburg on the day:

Our hashtags

• #next23
• #letsgetphysical
• #nextconf
  

See you in Hamburg!