TED to release annual conference as a movie in cinemas worldwide

Next week, for the first time, the non-profit organization known simply as TED, which promotes transformative ideas through talks, is presenting the opening night of its annual conference in cinemas worldwide.

Until now, videos of TED conferences were only available for streaming a month after taking place. This year, for TED 2016: Dream, taking place in Vancouver, Canada February 15-19, the first day's talks will debut live in North American movie theaters on February 15 and be shown in the rest of the world on February 16.

What is TED?

TED is a non-profit devoted to promoting ideas through global conferences. With the slogan "ideas worth spreading,” its aim is to provide thinkers and visionaries with a platform to get their ideas out around the world. TED began in 1984 as a one-time conference covering Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED).

What's discussed?

Today conferences and talks address almost any topic and take place throughout the year. Speakers are usually given about 20 minutes or less to present their ideas, which are meant to inspire and transform the world in some way. The $1 million TED prize is awarded every year to a leader with a vision for sparking global change.

Topics presented range from "How I'm discovering the secrets of ancient texts," to "Economic Growth: has it stalled. Let's fix it", "How we'll fight the next deadly virus" or even "can a computer write poetry."

Who's involved?



TED's global community invites anyone who wishes to share their ideas to apply to take part in the events and conferences. Notable past speakers include Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, and Richard Dawkins. This year Sue Desmond-Hellman, (CEO of the Gates Foundation), Joe Gebbia, (Designer, Cofounder of Airbnb), Al Gore (Climate Activist) and Travis Kalanick (Uber's founder and CEO) are among presenters.

The list of the top 20 most-watched videos at time of writing included talks by magician David Blaine and model Cameron Russell.

The opening night Dream session hitting cinemas will feature composer and musician AR Rahman, writer Ishita Katyal, TV writer and producer Shonda Rhimes and scientist/entrepreneur Riccardo Sabatini among others.

How can the talks be heard and watched?

In addition to this year's new cinema initiative, talks are recorded and streamed on the internet free of charge, at a later date. There are currently over 2100 talks available on the TED website, in several languages that can be searched by topic, an individual's name, language or duration. They are also available on YouTube, Netflix, and the official TED apps.

TED is owned by the private nonprofit Sapling Foundation. It generates funding through conference fees, sponsorships, foundation support, licensing fees and book sales. The revenue is used to share free TED talks video with the world and to support the organization's initiatives, such as the TED prize and free TED fellowships.

Watch the trailer here.