What you need to know about C2 Montréal 2015 in five easy answers

At the end of this month, there will be so much innovative energy concentrated in Montréal that there’s the very real danger of spontaneous creative combustion on a global scale, the kind of explosions of imagination that have the potential to be life-changing. Which is exactly what the organizers of the annual C2 Montréal business conference are hoping for. We’ll explain the 2015 edition in five easy answers.

What? C2 Montréal is a business conference, yes, but it ain’t your granddaddy’s plodding, PowerPoint-driven business conference. Described as existing at the point where genius meets insanity, C2 is all action all the time. This year will see some 4,000 participants from every industry imaginable (aerospace, food, art, medicine, agriculture, marketing, fashion, gaming, you name it) come to Montréal to get inspired by world-renowned speakers giving state-of-the-art multimedia presentations. They will also participate in hands-on collaborative workshops, stimulating masterclasses, exclusive creative and artistic happenings, next-level music events and cutting-edge live performance. And parties. Let’s not forget the parties.

Why? There are commercial problems – some common, some unique to an individual enterprise or industry – that require creative solutions. (Commerce + creativity = C2, get it?) Conceived in Montreal, C2 Montréal is an annual convergence of leading innovators, business all-stars and upstart entrepreneurs from a vast range of disciplines who not only answer the call to find creative answers to commercial questions, but begin making the kinds of connections that start larger post-conference conversations (while also hopefully making some new friends along the way).

Who? Every year, C2 Montréal draws from the cream of the speaker crop, and this edition is no exception. Up from 23 speakers last year, this year’s 29 internationally renowned keynote speakers include A-list actor Alec Baldwin, Chelsea Clinton (Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation), tennis player and philanthropist Andre Agassi, Carolyn Everson (Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook) and AOL digital prophet David Shing, to name a very few. Numerous C2 Montréal partners have also helped shape the experiential and experimental aspects of its program in 2015, including the 24 participative workshops, 10 master classes, 3 C2Lab experiences and approximately 20 conferences focusing on current trends.

When? This fourth edition of C2 Montréal takes place over three days from May 26 to 28. Welcome breakfasts begin each morning at 7:30 a.m., while the keynote speakers begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue until 6 p.m. Workshops and masterclasses run concurrently to the speakers. Having fun is serious business at C2, and themed party nights – Creative Spark Night, Montréal Night and the closing Illumination Night party featuring Arcade Fire’s Win Butler performing as DJ Windows 98 – get underway starting at 6 p.m.

Where? C2 Montréal’s vibrant “Innovation Village,” the central hub for all onsite activities, will once again take over the sprawling Arsenal contemporary art space (a repurposed shipyard dating back to 1846) in Montréal’s historic and transforming Griffintown neighbourhood. The speakers’ Forum, immersive exhibits and conceptual spaces, networking spaces and customized lounges are all prominent features of the village. New this year is a conference space in the Plaza, the Big Top BDC. With a capacity of 200, the Big Top will host some 20 speakers who will address topics such as investment, social business and innovation, renewable energies and technologies among other trending issues.