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Themed Entertainment Association announces 2022 Summit and Gala details

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Tickets released for association summit and gala with leading speaker announced

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), a non-profit representing compelling places and experiences worldwide, has provided details of three upcoming events which will see a return to normality with in-person celebrations, presentations and networking.

Starting before its Annual Thea Awards Gala, this year’s TEA Summit will be hosted at Disneyland Resort & Hotel in Anaheim, California, US on 21 – 22 April 2022. The two-day event will feature a series of panels and presentations connected to the year’s slate of award recipients.

The State of the Industry will be a key focus, reflecting on the last three years of the themed entertainment industry and looking forward to trends that will shape the future. 

TEA has announced that Doris Hardoon, recipient of the Buzz Price Thea Award in 2021, will be a speaker on the conference’s first day. Hardoon is a themed entertainment leader, executive creative director and producer.

The exclusive interview, to be held on 21 April 2022, will detail her extensive career in the industry, which features a two-decade stint at Walt Disney Imagineering.

TEA Summit Doris Hardoon Announcement

The Summit’s second day will focus on Thea Case Studies, celebrating award recipients, and the process that led to them being nominated and receiving their accolades.

Following last year’s virtual event and a return to in-person summits, a TEA spokesperson adds the association is “eager and excited to reconnect in person”.

Tickets for the TEA Summit are available for purchase online.

28th Annual Thea Awards Gala

The prestigious black-tie gala event will return to Disneyland on Saturday 23 April 2022 with a cocktail reception. Attendees will also enjoy dinner and the Thea awards presentation which will recognise the nineteen recipients of the 28th Annual Thea Awards announced last year.

Founded in 1994, Thea Awards can be given to notable individuals, projects and technologies recognised by the TEA. A fundamental part of the awards process is that each recipient must be able to produce a comprehensive credits list which is then made available through the Thea Awards Program.

28th Annual Thea Awards Recipients 2022

Notable categories include the Buzz Price Thea Award, which honours lifetime achievement and the Thea Classic Award which celebrates long-standing guest experiences. New for this year, the Thea Catalyst Award, acknowledges significant individual contributions to the advancement of the themed entertainment industry.

Tickets for this year’s Thea Awards Gala are now available online.

TEA THEA Awards Gala 2022 Banner

SATE Europe 2022

Over in Sweden, SATE Europe will take place at Liseberg on 4-7 May 2022, a leading amusement park in the city of Gothenburg, following last year’s successful Barcelona event.

The SATE was added to TEA’s roster of industry events 15 years ago with the aim of fostering conversations about the methodology of Experience Design within the business community. SATE is shorthand for the equation Story + Architecture + Technology = Experience.

The theme for this year’s conference is Celebration, in that the industry has accomplished much to commemorate, despite experiencing one of the most challenging times for the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SATE actively promotes production through a culture of collaboration. This ethos recommends designers, technology experts and clients collude together from the culmination of projects to create an overarching team structure that is typically more horizontal than hierarchical in build.

This year’s conference ticket includes entry to the Liseberg park, meals and ample opportunities to network, providing an invaluable experience for those in the themed entertainment industry.

Further details including speakers for the event will be announced soon.

The TEA recently announced it was creating a dedicated council for China, which will be a standalone entity endorsed by the TEA International Board of Directors.

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Adam Whittaker

Adam studied Marketing and Advertising Management at Leeds Beckett University. Originally from Lancashire and now based in Norfolk, UK, you can usually find him appreciating art deco design or on a roller coaster.

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