Peterborough is set to be transformed into a mecca for UK gamers this August as 20,000 people descend on the inaugural CityLAN event in the city, featuring some of the biggest stars in European gaming.

Held at the ABAX Stadium (home to Peterborough Football club) and Future Business Centre the event will feature key players in the European Gaming League (EGL) and UbiSoft Lead Game Designer Tim Browne (currently developing the new Assassin’s Creed Syndicate), who will join via video link from France to deliver a keynote address.

Other attendees include renowned Peterborough e-Gamer Ash Dubh who has close to 500,000 YouTube subscribers and Dr Mata Haggis, Professor of Creative and Entertainment Games at Breda University of Applies Sciences in The Netherlands.

There will also be a strong focus on careers in technology, with an active push to engage with students and younger people. Local organisation Digital People in Peterborough (DPiP) will be using hardware from robotics firm Arduino to teach visitors how to build a robot as part of this section of the event. There will be further talks and Q&As on computing, app design and development and wearable technology.

With a exhibitors, gamers and attendees alike expected to gobble through terabytes of data between August 20^th and 23^rd, CityLAN is being powered by four dedicated, pure fibre gigabit speed network connections provided by CityFibre. The connections are part of CityFibre’s recently completed 90km network installation in Peterborough called the Peterborough CORE.

Along with hundreds of gaming demos, live play sessions and high profile exhibits, all reliant on a strong network connection, live gaming sessions, streamed speaker slots and demonstrations will be live-streamed to a big screen in Cathedral Square in Peterborough city centre and around the world.

Both CityLAN and CityFibre have worked in close partnership and consultation to ensure the network is able to support all the demands of running an event that is amongst the most data hungry in the world. An experienced team of engineers will closely monitor the connections throughout the event.

Terry Harris, Director at CityLAN said: “Bringing an event of this size to Peterborough is massively exciting. Some of the names attending are superstars in their own right and there is a huge appetite from the British gaming community to attend.

“Having CityFibre as a partner is something we are most thankful for – as many gamers know exceptional Internet and ultra-low latency is a must and with so many people in attendance a robust connection is one of the most important ingredient to CityLANs success. We’re confident all our attendees – from gamers to those watching key note addresses from overseas will enjoy a high quality experience throughout.”

CityFibre City Development Manager, Andrew Starnes added: “We’ve been turning Peterborough into a ‘Gigabit City’ and the response we’ve had from local businesses shows just how digitally focused this region is. We’re very proud to be able to bring these dedicated lines, which will provide some of the fastest speeds in the world, to the CityLAN event to ensure it’s a true Gigabit Games.”