Katowice – the best game to play!

The new image of Katowice is nowadays composed of so many attributes, far from the stereotypes formed throughout decades, that the city is now setting an example for other agglomerations as a model of successful economic and social transformation. The best proof of that is the fact that Katowice has been chosen to host the World Urban Forum, which will be held under the aegis of UN-Habitat – the UN agency for urbanization and urban settlements in 2022 under the slogan "Changing our cities for a better future".

If we talk today about Katowice as a city of important international events, we usually mention events of great social and economic importance, such as the European Economic Congress, the 13th edition of which was held in September this year. Among special guests, in the context of organizing the next year's World Urban Forum in Katowice, the event was visited by the Executive Director of UN-Habitat – Maimunah Mohd Sharif. But not only politics, economy and social issues focus the public attention, because culture, sport and other media events also strongly shape Katowice's modern image. Katowice is a young city, and a large part of its community is made up of students – almost 54 thousand in Katowice alone, 93 thousand in entire GZM Metropolis, and we must add to this numer also pupils of almost 40 secondary and post-secondary schools. E-sports in computer games, is now a true passion of a great number of young people and attracts crowds of enthusiasts from all over the world to the finals of the Intel Extreme Masters tournaments in a famous “Spodek” events hall in Katowice. The scale of this event is clearly evidenced by the fact that in the last pre-pandemic year, 2019, it gathered 174 thousand spectators, and through online media the struggle of the competitors was watched by 230 million people! The scale and importance of Intel Extreme Masters is also influenced by the fact that IEM is now not only the tournament itself, but also – a trade fair in which companies directly related to e-sports and gaming, but also telecommunications corporations, FMCG or banks that want to be close tofans of virtual games and offer products tailored to their expectations by participation in fair as exhibitors. The fact that Katowice is undoubtedly one of the most important e-sports and gaming centers in Poland would not be possible without its potential to host major international events that is enabled by the two adjacent venues located in the city center: the International Congress Centre in Katowice as well as “Spodek” events hall, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year.

Creative industry branches such as e-sports and gaming are clearly present in Katowice's economic landscape not only in the context of the annual Intel Extreme Masters, as the city is home to companies such as ESL Poland, a world leader in e-sports and related innovations, or Keywords Studios, providing international services to developers and publishers of computer games, which plans to expand its team by another 300 people to the total number of 1,000 employees by the end of 2021. Additionally, Katowice is also a home of such companies like Anshar Studios S.A, Code Horizon Sp. z o.o., Crazy Goat Games, Dev Hero.es, Incuvo, Jujubee S.A., etc. The development of these creative industries fits perfectly with the strategic vision of the development of Katowice city till 2030, where among the four priorities referred to as the "4i concept" (intelligence, innovation, integration, internationalisation), it is innovation, aiming to shape the structure of the city in such a way that it becomes a strongvcenter for the creation and implementation of technological, cultural and social innovations, that is one of the foundations for building the future of Katowice. One of the most spectacular development projects of Katowice is the New Technology District – Katowice Gaming and Technology Hub. It is to be a Mega-project, a unique place on the map of Katowice, bringing together entrepreneurs from the gaming and e-sports industries, as well as the creative sector and related technology branches. The plan is to create a Hub on the site of the decommissioned "Wieczorek" coal mine, around two historic mining shafts of the "Wieczorek" mine – Pułaski shaft and Poniatowski shaft and in the vicinity of the exemplarily revitalised historic Nikiszowiec district. According to the plans, an expanded complex of the Katowice Gaming and Technology Hub is to be built in the area of the Pułaski shaft, while the area around the Poniatowski shaft is to be made available for everyone as a recreational space enabling to pursue individual passions and interests. The key to the success of the New Technology District will be the accumulation in one place of companies from the gaming and e-sports industries, as well as related technology companies whose development and cooperation will be stimulated by the City of Katowice. Attracting large gaming companies, around which the whole business ecosystem will be created, is expected to be an important development factor. It is assumed that the revitalization and transformation of the historical mine into a modern space which meets the requirements of entrepreneurs from the gaming industry in the broadest sense of these words will be a major impulse for the development of the district, the city and the entire region.