TED (conference)
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| Company type | LLC |
|---|---|
Website type | Conference |
| Available in | English, multilingual subtitles, transcript |
| Founded | February 23, 1984 |
| Headquarters |
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| Area served |
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| Owners | Sapling Foundation (1984–2019) TED Foundation (2019–present)[1] |
| Founders | |
| Revenue |  US$66.2 million (2015)[4] |
| Website | ted |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | |
| Current status | Active |
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design[7]) is an American-Canadian nonprofit[7] media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Spreading").[8] It was founded by Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks in February 1984[2] as a technology conference, in which Mickey Schulhof gave a demo of the compact disc that was invented in October 1982.[5] Its main conference has been held annually since 1990.[6][9] It covers many topics—from science to literature to business to global issues—in more than 100 languages.[7]
TED's early emphasis was on technology and design, consistent with its Silicon Valley origins. It later broadened to include scientific, cultural, political, humanitarian, and academic topics.[10] It has been curated by Chris Anderson, a British-American businessman, through the non-profit TED Foundation since July 2019 (originally by the non-profit Sapling Foundation).[1][11][12]
The main TED conference has been held annually in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the Vancouver Convention Centre since 2014. The first conferences from 1984 (TED1) through 2008 (TED2008) were held at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California.[13] From 2009 to 2014, it was held in Long Beach, California, United States.[14] TED events are also held throughout North America and in Europe, Asia, and Africa, offering live streaming of the talks. TED returned to Monterey in 2021 with TEDMonterey. The talks address a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture, often through storytelling.[15]
TED conferences are invitation-only events with an admission of $6,000.[16]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Jimmy Wales: The birth of Wikipedia, TED 2005 | |
| Chris Anderson: TED's nonprofit transition, TED 2002 |
Since June 2006, TED Talks had been offered for online streaming.[3] By June 2011, TED Talks' combined viewing figures surpassed 500 million.[17]
History
[edit]1984–1999: Founding and early years
[edit]
TED was conceived in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman, FAIA '76,[18] and co-founded by Emmy-winning broadcast and graphic designer Harry Marks and CBS president emeritus Frank Stanton. The conference featured demos of the compact disc, co-developed by Philips and Sony, and one of the first demonstrations of the Apple Macintosh computer.[3][19] Presentations were given by the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot and others such as Nicholas Negroponte and Stewart Brand. The event was financially unsuccessful; six years elapsed before a second conference was organized.[20]
TED2 was held at the same Monterey Conference Center in California in 1990. From 1990 onward, a growing community of "TEDsters" gathered annually with Wurman leading the conference in Monterey until 2009,[21] when it was moved to Long Beach, California, due to a substantial increase in the number of those attending.[22][23] Speakers were initially drawn from the fields of expertise behind the acronym TED; but during the 1990s, presenters broadened to include scientists, philosophers, musicians, religious leaders, philanthropists, and many others.[20]
2000–present: Recent growth
[edit]In 2000, Wurman, looking for a successor at age 65, met with new-media entrepreneur and TED enthusiast Chris Anderson to discuss future happenings. Anderson's UK media company Future bought TED for $14 million ($12 million in cash and $2 million in stocks). In November 2001, Anderson's non-profit the Sapling Foundation (motto: "fostering the spread of great ideas")[1] acquired TED from Future for £6m.[24] In February 2002, Anderson gave a TED Talk in which he explained his vision of the conference and his future role of curator.[25]
In 2012, TED community director Tom Rielly helped the producers of Prometheus gain approval for the use of the TED brand in the promotional short film TED 2023, designed by Rielly with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof, directed by Luke Scott, and starring Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland, who in the film speaks at a fictional TED conference at Wembley Stadium in the then-future of 2023; on the film's release, Rielly noted that the association had generated millions of unique visits to the TED website.[26]
In 2014, the conference was moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[27]
TED is currently funded by various revenue streams, including attendance fees, corporate sponsorships, foundation support, licensing fees, and book sales. Sponsors do not participate in the event's creation and do not present on the main stage.[28][29]
In 2015, TED staff consisted of about 180 people headquartered in New York City and Vancouver, British Columbia.[30] On July 1, 2019, the TED Conferences LLC was transferred from Sapling Foundation to TED Foundation to "align with our brand and make it easier for our donors to connect TED donations to TED Conferences, LLC."[31][32]
In 2021, TED launched the TED Audio Collective with a number of podcasts featuring previous TED Talks and other relevant topics.[33]
TED 2022 was held in Vancouver. There was criticism after Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, flew 9,200 miles (14,800 km) to speak about climate change and the need for reduced carbon emissions.[34]
In 2025, it was announced that the annual conference would move to San Diego, California, beginning in 2027.[35]
TED Prize
[edit]The TED Prize was introduced in 2005. Until 2010, $100,000 was given annually to three individuals with a "wish to change the world".[36] Each winner unveiled their wish at the main annual conference. The winners from this period are as follows:
- 2005: Bono, Edward Burtynsky,[37] Robert Fischell[38]
- 2006: Larry Brilliant, Jehane Noujaim, Cameron Sinclair[39]
- 2007: Bill Clinton, Edward O. Wilson, James Nachtwey[40]
- 2008: Dave Eggers, Neil Turok, Karen Armstrong[41]
- 2009: Sylvia Earle, Jill Tarter, José Antonio Abreu[42]
Since 2010, a single winner has been chosen to ensure that TED can maximize its efforts in achieving the winner's wish. In 2012, the prize was not awarded to a person, but to a concept connected to the current global phenomenon of increasing urbanization. In 2013, the prize amount was increased to $1 million.[43] The winners from this period are as follows:
- 2010: Jamie Oliver[44]
- 2011: JR[45]
- 2012: City 2.0[46][47]
- 2013: Sugata Mitra[48]
- 2014: Charmian Gooch[49][50]
- 2015: David Isay[51]
- 2016: Sarah Parcak[52]
- 2017: Raj Panjabi[53]
TED Conference commissioned New York artist Tom Shannon to create a prize sculpture for all TED Prize winners. It consists of an eight-inch-diameter (20 cm) aluminum sphere magnetically levitated above a walnut disc.