On Tour II is a month away: the what, the why and the how

Exactly 30 days from now, fingers crossed, I'll be leaning on the wall of the Limassol Castle with a cup of sand-brewed coffee in one hand and a cup of rose-water ice cream in the other, listening to one of the presentations of Summit On Tour II. Here's a snapshot of the event as it stands right now:

The Attendees

We're currently at 220 attendees, that's one person less than what we had at the Warsaw edition last year. A few more people will sign up, and a few will cancel last-minute, so overall we'll probably end up with a slightly higher number.

42% of the attendees are female (up from 37% in Warsaw), which reflects the improving gender balance in the industry. The On Tour format is more accessible – and thus provides a better look at what the industry's legal field is now, rather than traditionally.

41% of the attendees work at studios (up from 38% in Warsaw). This makes the conference closer to Vilnius in terms of the in-house/specialist split, and it's one of the key indicators that impacts our decision on the pricing for the next year's edition: On Tour III, currently planned in Rome in April 2025, will have the same registration price, so that more in-house counsels can fit the event into their travel budgets.

The attendees come from 42 different countries (up from 32 in Warsaw), true to the international nature of the games industry – we're certain that many of you will make new connections at the conference, from all over the world.

Lastly, there's one more check that I do for On Tour, which we keep moving to a different country each year: have we connected with the local legal community? In Limassol, we see that 16% of the attendees come from Cyprus (at the Warsaw event, 32% of the attendees came from Poland –a testament to the Polish industry, if you needed one).

The Venue

On Tour II will run at the Carob Mill in the port of Limassol. It is a restored factory, originally built in 1900. I'm sure you'll come across carob trees when you'll walk around the town (you can still find carob syrup at the traditional shops).

As usual, we aim to keep as much of the event outdoors as we can: the doors and the windows of the venue will remain open at all times, and we aim to keep CO2 at below 800. The coffee breaks will be served outdoors next to the Castle, and all lunches and dinners will also happen a fuori.

While the world may be done with the pandemics, the pandemics is not yet done with the world – so we'll have a supply of FFP2 masks and rapid tests available on site (just ask Alma), if you start feeling under the weather at any time. It's up to each attendee to calibrate their own risk, but I urge you to do all that you can to prevent the risk for the others.

The graph above shows the CO2 readings during my last flight to Cyprus. 500 is my office, anything up to 1.000 is Okay, and the red part of the chart is basically people breathing each other's air while in the airplane (for more on CO2 values and how you can improve your office, I recommend Nous aérons).

Because of how much the airplane air is being recycled, wearing a well-fitting respirator (3M Aura is 😘) on the flight to the conference goes a long way towards making sure that you spend it networking and learning (rather than looking for some ιβουπροφαίνη in the local φαρμακείο).

The Food

In your attendee bags, you will find the full menu of the event, in English and in Greek (who knows, perhaps you'll fall in love with the language?). Everything that we will serve, comes from the kitchen of Karatello, and all the ingredients are local – whether it's avocados or strawberries. We optimised the menu for healthier options and seasonal fruits and vegetables, and while there's wine and beer, there's also plenty of non-alcoholic drinks.

Based on the indicated preferences, about 50% of the attendees eat meat, 30% opted for fish and 20% for the vegetarian options. At the meze dinner, you will see the tables organised by the type of main dish, matching the ticket that you'll get at the registration (do hold on to that ticket!). Cyprus has thousands of years of food culture, and it's important for us that you have a chance to explore all the awesome things on the table without worrying if it's got the ingredients that work for you.

The Program

On Tour II will have the most content that we ever attempted to present: 14 panels across 16 hours, with over 50 presenters (and roughly the same number of cats; in Cyprus, these guys are everywhere; dozens already signed up to attend our event).

I know that 16 hours of content is a hard ask, and that most conferences would normally do about half – but I'm sure that we can manage, with coffee and beers to keep us going. With the doors open, and speakers placed outside, you can follow the panels on your way to another cup, or another bite.

We have announced half of the panels already, at the LinkedIn page, and I aim to publish the actual timetable some time next week. From litigation to regulation, most of the panels are cross-country, and all are attuned to the current state of the markets:

• Subscriptions, DRV & Terms XC
• Advertising & Influencers XC 2024
• Privacy XC 2024
• Protection of Minors XC 2024
• Litigating Clones XC 2024
• Deceptively Obvious 2.0 XC
• Insurance in Games Industry
• Talent Agreements XC
• Making MBOs Happen
• M&A's Toolbox for Difficult Times
• Execution of Regional Incentives
• Restricted Markets: Controlled Engagement
• Games Industry in Cyprus
• The Echo Chamber

There will be the usual voting for "the most valuable panel", but this time not digitally: rather, you will find printed ballots in your Summit notebook, which we ask you to fill and cast at the end of the event (one ballot per day).

The leads of the three most upvoted panels get their cast iron Wolf Statues right during the Farewell Drinks, and the lead of the panel with the highest number of votes also gets a new thing – a complimentary ticket to On Tour III (fully transferable – for example, to an associate or a counsel who otherwise can't their travel budget approved?).

The Country

If this is your first time in Cyprus, I urge you to come without expectations, and see the country as it is: multicultural and multiethnic, ancient and modern, local and global at the same time. I have seen my share of people who come with the idea that the country should fit one or another stereotype, and this sort of pre-framing always works to their own disadvantage.

In Limassol, in 5 minutes, you can cross the distance between a mosque and an orthodox church; between a fisherman cleaning their net and an office where people make games; between an authentic meze tavern and a pretentious cocktail bar; between a shop sign saying YACHTS FOR SALE and a graffiti saying FUCK THE SYSTEM. It is the interplay of all these layers, that makes the island special. Discover them for yourself, and enjoy the authentic mix of different ways of life.

The Deadlines

If you're still on the fence about attending: we will close the registration at midnight of April 4, when we lock down the food preferences with the venue's kitchen.

If you booked a regular pass but would like to change to Pro (which includes the meze industry dinner on April 18, and a special package from Kika's Garden), the deadline to do this is also April 1 – please email Alma directly.

Finally, if you'd like to join the Morning Run but have not signed up yet – all of the information is here, and at the time of me writing this, the system shows 77 runners. We run on both April 18 and April 19 (though we'll see how many wake up for the run after the dinner... 😸).

We look forward to seeing you in Limassol next month, to talking about law and about games, and to catching up with old friends as well as making new connections. Τα λέμε!

/ S.