Innovate or Perish
How can Europe survive the race of the century?
Wednesday 21 October 2026 · doors 18h · The Beacon, Antwerp
The biggest contest of this century won’t be fought over borders. It will be fought over technology. AI, energy, defense, trade and health are where this century gets decided, and whoever moves first sets the rules for everyone else. Europe has the science, the talent and the industry to lead. It has just been too slow to turn invention into power. Stand still and you fall behind. Innovate, or perish.
Nowhere is that clearer than the Port of Antwerp, where all five races meet on one site. What Antwerp gets right, Europe can copy. What it gets wrong, Europe feels soon after.
So on 21 October it comes to The Beacon in Antwerp. Leading thinkers and decision-makers open the evening. Then you take over. Five wargames, five fronts, and one question. What does Europe have to do to win?
Five races, one evening
AI – Who builds the AI that runs Europe’s ports, factories and defense? Right now, mostly not Europe. Can we change that?
Energy – Cheap, clean power decides which industries stay and which leave. Can Europe have both at once?
Defense – Drones, cyberattacks and sabotage already hit European infrastructure. Is Europe ready to defend itself?
Trade – One export ban on the other side of the world can shut a factory here. How does Europe stop being so easy to squeeze?
Healthcare – Europe invents the medicine, then watches it get made and sold elsewhere. How do we keep it here?
The evening
- 18h00 Doors open
- 18h30 Opening remarks by the European Commission
- 18h40 The panel. Leading thinkers, policymakers and decision-makers from the EU, the Port of Antwerp, global business and academia.
- 19h30 Five wargames. The room splits into groups, one per race, and puts its own ideas on the table.
- 20h20 Closing words and drinks