Future State: New Realities will take place at Spark Arena, located on Mahuhu Crescent at the edge of the CBD. It is both accessible and highly visible from Beach Road and Quay Street and within easy reach of public transport, hotels, and restaurants. Further public transport, parking, mobility parking and passenger drop-off information can be accessed here.

Each ticket includes access to the full Future State event, including all listed talks and panel discussions, for the duration of the day. Your ticket is inclusive of morning tea, catered lunch, and afternoon tea, which will be served at intervals during the event program. 

After purchasing your ticket you’ll receive a booking confirmation via email. Your individual ticket will be emailed to you 48 hours before the event with your seating allocation, which is automatically defined by the time of purchase. Should you be purchasing multiple tickets and like them issued to each individual ticketholder, you may visit the booking site and add the individual email addresses for the tickets to be issued to. As tickets will be issued digitally you will be able to enter the event by presenting your unique barcode on your mobile device.

Once tickets are issued seats cannot be changed, however should you require a specific seat for accessibility, such as wheelchair access or up-front seating for clearer viewing, please get in contact at the time of booking and we will accommodate your request.

Future State does not issue refunds for change of mind. Should you purchased a ticket and no longer be able to attend you may have the ticket reissued to a different name at no charge. 

Each edition of Future State will explore a different aspect of contemporary culture that is reshaping business. The first edition of the event has been curated to the theme of ‘New Realities’, which will explore the driving forces behind the next era of the internet and unpack the challenges and opportunities of developments such as the metaverse, data sovereignty, AI, VR, gamification and tokenisation, and UX and UI design. 
 
The event, however, will offer more just than actionable insights into new technologies through the application of a humanistic lens to the subject matter to better understand how it applies to, and respects, people and the planet. Additional topics will include diversity in digital representation, accessibility, AI biases, digital human rights, low-impact and climate-positive technology, next-generation psychology, and building mental and creative resilience. 

There will be no livestream of the event, however highlights of the talks program will be featured on the Future State and Spark Lab website post event, viewable only within New Zealand. 

While personal content capture is allowed, photographs or video recordings made with the intent of professional or commercial distribution or sale is firmly prohibited. We kindly request the no flash photography be used during the talks program. 

Semi Permanent, Spark Lab and Spark Arena are committed to producing an event experience with minimal environmental impact and maximum benefits for people.

• All food and beverage on site at Spark Arena is served in 100% compostable, plant-based packaging from local suppliers Innocent Packaging and Ecoware 
• Digital tickets and programs will be issued in lieu of paper
• The flights of all international talent have been carbon offset 
• Humanitix is Future State’s ticketing platform of choice. Humanitix donates 100% of profits from every event’s booking fees to charities, including the Manaiakalani Education Trust, an organisation supporting Māori, Pasifika and disadvantaged learners in Aotearoa New Zealand to increase student outcomes and get equal access to digital education

For each ticket for a wheelchair space purchased by a disabled individual or another person at his or her request, one additional ticket in the same row and contiguous with the wheelchair space shall be made available for purchase (provided they are available at time of purchase). We will provide solid seat as the companion seat in wheelchair accessible reserved seating areas.
 

There is often high demand for mobility parking for events at Spark Arena, so it's best to check your parking options early, and allow yourself plenty of time to get to the show on the day. We have a limited number of nearby carparks designated specifically for mobility pass holder parking. These spaces are free but must be pre-booked, and they fill up quickly. Spaces are allocated on a first come first served basis and can be reserved once you have your event ticket.
Once you have purchased your tickets, the easiest way to request to book a mobility parking spot is filling out our form here. We will email you as soon as we have confirmed your mobility parking spot reservation.

For every show, visually impaired patrons can contact the Spark Arena office by calling 09 358 1250 or emailing info@sparkarena.co.nz any time before 5pm on the day of the event and they will make sure the front of house team is aware of your needs. 

Guide dogs are welcome at all events. It would be great if you could get in touch with us before the event to let us know if you are bringing your guide dog so we can make sure you get the best out of your experience with us.

Visually impaired guests will find tactile cues and Braille signage throughout the arena to help them and our friendly front of house staff are happy to assist at any time during events.

A hearing assistance system is available for those with hearing impairments. The Telex Sound-Mate comprises an FM radio transmitter base station and 10 portable radio receivers tuned to the FM transmit frequency. Audio from the receivers is heard via a lightweight headset worn by the user. The receivers are available from the Info Booth on the ground floor upon arrival. Please be aware that hookup to the system needs to be prearranged prior to the day of show (ideally at least 24 hours in advance). As always, the best idea is to contact us and let us know you'll require this service once you've purchased your event ticket.

Live captions will be available for all keynote and featured speaker sessions. These will be manually provided by a professional captioner. These create an inclusive meeting experience for participants who may not otherwise be able to hear speakers and sounds at the event. They also provide access and benefit other attendees such as those who might have distractions or non-native English speakers.