TED2026 was special for a lot of reasons, but one point deserves particular attention: After 12 years in Vancouver, Canada, the TED conference is moving to San Diego, California!
TED has historically moved every decade or so — not because we’ve outgrown a city, but because staying fresh, curious and innovative requires evolution. Vancouver will always hold a special place in TED’s story, and we’re deeply grateful for the partnership and warmth that city gave us.
I’m so grateful to have been a part of TED’s final year in Vancouver (and that the sun and city came out to celebrate with us!). I spoke with a few TEDsters to learn more about how they’re moving through this transition, and came away with three core questions that you can ask yourself whenever approaching something new.
1. What story are you telling yourself?
“As you are moving forward, pay attention to the story that you’re telling yourself,” said Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD , a social psychologist and TED speaker. “Make sure that you are aware of the emotions that you’re carrying. Name them.”
Around the conference, we had so many mementos dedicated to closing this chapter with gratitude and joy. An exhibit dedicated to 1984, the first year of TED, truly made it feel like you’re stepping back in time. Attendees could watch the stage content streamed to a stack of retro TVs. You could take polaroid photos, play arcade games, flip through 80s magazines, or grab a soda from the vending machine.
It was a nostalgic, joyful experience. This monument to the past is part of our celebration of the future. Whatever you’re moving towards, name your emotions, be aware of the narrative you’re creating — and see what’s best serving you.
2. What are you grateful for?
Celebration is a key part of letting go and moving forward. By hosting Thursday’s closing party alongside a Chase cardholder exclusive event, Chase Sapphire Reserve helped TED create space for meaningful relationships to take root.
“Throughout the week, ideas sparked on stage and meaningful relationships were formed,” said Laura Merola , General Manager of Sapphire. “Our goal was to help foster a sense of inclusion and connection, because when people come together across backgrounds and ideas, that’s when inspiration turns into action.”
Whether in community or solitude, this practice of gratitude is truly the best way to move forward positively.
“If there’s anything you can do on any given day to feel a little bit better than you might otherwise, to lift your mood up, to create a sense of meaning, is to sit down and think about something you’re grateful for,” said Nicholas Epley , behavioral scientist, TED speaker and author of the upcoming book A Little More Social.
3. What opportunities does this create?
Change is scary, but it’s also a powerful opportunity to reinvent what’s not working — and make new friends!
“I do something that your parents tell you you should never do. I talk to strangers. I talk to strangers a lot,” said Epley. “The reason I talk to strangers is because everyone’s got a story to tell you. And if you take an interest in other people and are open to engaging with them, they will open up to you and it makes your life not just better, but surprisingly better.”
This is because research shows we consistently underestimate how positively others will respond to us when we reach out. People get so caught up in “What should I say? What should we talk about as a perfect opening line?” But the best way to make a new connection is to simply take an interest in other people, said Epley.
Always looking forward
TED is always aiming at new horizons. Just as TED challenges speakers and attendees to think differently about where they’re heading in this rapidly changing future, we challenge ourselves to do the same. The move to San Diego is part of that commitment to growth and renewal.
Margarita Neymark , a brand and community builder in San Diego, says the TED community can look forward to “a lot of sunshine, a lot of smiles, really good food and a lot of innovation.”
Having just experienced her first TED conference, she said she’s “really looking forward to taking that same energy and really just putting that San Diego heartbeat on it.”
“The TED community itself is a place of some of the most brilliant minds and change makers in the world. And I think that paired with the work that the communities in San Diego are already doing is just such a beautiful marriage,” said Neymark. The San Diego community is ready to embrace the TED community, she explained. And we can’t for them both to meet.
San Diego is a place with big dreams, strong opinions about the future — and the will to act on them. It is exactly the right place for TED to be in as our exhilarating future unfolds.
Can we count you in?
TED2027 may be a year away, but there’s so many ways to connect with TED in the meantime. As a TED Member, you can dive deeper into big ideas like the ones we explored this week ensuring you remain ever inspired and looking forward to the road ahead. We hope you’ll join us as TED Member today and become part of this thriving community.
Thank you so much for joining me this week. See you March 1-4 for TED2027 in San Diego!
