Program Our home in Long Beach

The move to Long Beach

After more than 20 happy, but increasingly crowded years in Monterey, the TED Conference relocated to Long Beach in 2009. Before making the move, we scoured the U.S. for a new venue that would give us some breathing room, while retaining all the qualities that made Monterey so special. We found this in Long Beach, California. It will make a spectacular long-term home for TED.

Why move?

At TED2008, we received clear feedback from many of you that we had simply outgrown the Monterey Conference Center. With 1,300 people attending, and only 500 seats in the Main Hall, we were faced with long queues for the Main Hall and, on occasions, an unseemly crush. We believed we could do better.

A TED-like environment

At Long Beach, we found a theater that can accommodate all our attendees, while retaining Monterey's wonderful sense of intimacy and energy. It's bigger, yes, but it's beautifully intimate.

The Terrace Theater and the Center Theater

At the center of the TED experience in Long Beach is the Terrace Theater, a beautiful auditorium with aisle-free "continental" seating. For those who prefer casual, food- and laptop-friendly viewing, you'll find inspired Social Spaces and cafés throughout the multi-level lobby and fountain plaza. TED University, featuring short talks by attendees on their area of expertise, is presented at the intimate Center Theater, also part of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

For conversation breaks: TED's Social Spaces

We've designed the conference to make it easy for subcommunities to connect and engage. There are ten different Social Spaces, each with a different flavor: tents, a sanctuary and a global village, and six amazing spaces inside the theater complex. They offer not just cool things to look at, but refreshments, simulcast and conversation space. Some of you will want to “graze” all of them. Others may find that one of them is the space you're most comfortable in and where you can meet the people you want to connect with.