TED Talks come to Vancouver

TED is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and for the first time ever, it is being held in Vancouver.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.

The organizers are world famous for bringing top-notch speakers together for a week-long conference.

Their motto is “Ideas Worth Spreading,” and the videos of TED talks garner millions of page views online.

The theme this year is “The Next Chapter,” with speakers and attendees seeking to understand the most significant developments of the last 30 years.

The conference kicks off this evening at the Vancouver Convention Centre and will run through Friday.

The line-up of speakers includes Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, philanthropists Melinda and Bill Gates, performer Sting, journalist Charlie Rose, writer Elizabeth Gilbert, and gun law activists Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly.

If that sounds like a great line-up, do not rush to get the tickets.

The event is sold out. It was limited to only 1,200 attendees and the tickets were going for $7,500 a piece.

But for the TED fans who can’t afford to pay this much money, there will be a free live stream of the conference at a variety of public locations around Vancouver.

This is the first time that TED will be live streamed for free in its host city.

Here is a full list of live streaming venues:

Public Plazas

• BC Place Stadium, Terry Fox Plaza, Jumbotron outside, Vancouver
• Grouse Mountain,  6400 Nancy Greene Way, North Vancouver

Libraries

• Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
• Surrey City Centre Library, 10350 University Drive, Surrey
• North Vancouver District Public Library, 1277 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver
• Port Moody Public Library, 100 Newport Drive, Port Moody
• Richmond Public Library, 100 – 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond
• Coquitlam Public Library, 575 Poirier Street, Coquitlam

Colleges / Universities

• British Columbia Institute of Technology, 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby
• CityStudio, 1800 Spyglass Place, Vancouver
• Corpus Christi College, 5935 Iona Drive, Vancouver
• Douglas College, 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 12666 72 Avenue (Cedar 1240), Surrey
• Langara College Library,100 West 49th Avenue, Vancouver
• Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby
• The University of British Columbia, Vancouver

–Scarfe Building, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver

–Cecil Green Park Coach House, 6323 Cecil Green Park Road

–Life Sciences Centre, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Room 1372

–Sauder School of Business, Angus Building, 2053 Main Mall, Room 165

–Sauder School of Business, Robson Square

• Makerspace at the UVic Tech Park, 4a-4476 Markham Street, Victoria

Non-Profits and Community Centres

• Potluck Café Society, 30 West Hastings, Vancouver
• Trout Lake Community Centre, 3360 Victoria Drive, Vancouver