RISE Games 2026 – Sports, Technology, Digital

A RISE party for the history books. 11 hours dedicated to sports. People associate RISE with GovTech, IT security, insurance/banking IT, TI, eHealth, and AI. We’re also involved in sports - digitally, worldwide. This was impressively on display at the summer festival at Colosseum21. Nearly 1,000 people experienced firsthand just how deeply RISE Tech is rooted in international sports—from scoring to VR to live streaming. At major tournaments. With billions of clicks.

The event featured live: Taekwondo fights with scoring, VR graphics, and TV production. Real K-1 kickboxing, a professional ring, ring announcer, referees, and live streaming. SPORTDATA, a RISE brand. A live demonstration of how competition, scoring, and graphics come together seamlessly. The world No. 5 fought against No. 9. It ended in a KO. Not an exhibition match. Quote from a RISE AI PhD: “... I feel like an academic wimp.” ;-) Sports connect people, cultures, and opposites. Sports teach us: without rules that apply to everyone, there is no sport. No culture.

Sixteen RISE teams competed in the tug-of-war. Fantastic! Fair play, enthusiasm, team spirit. Technology ensures visibility, global reach, community, competition, and fairness (VAR). Roland Breiteneder, CEO of SPORTDATA, and his team explained how events are run digitally around the world: accreditation, real-time scoring, and analytics. Over 15,000 tournaments per year, more than 100 countries, and more than 100 sports. RISE has long been known as The Digital House of Sports.

Rabehi Smail, CEO of Sportdata Algeria, presented the profession of sports data expert - which requires a college degree - in Algiers. It is a vast country with 69 provinces. Smail is driving the digital transformation of sports in North Africa. Digital sovereignty is a priority there. Sovereignty is extremely important to the African Olympic Committee. This represents a strong link for RISE into gov-tech in this promising region of the world.

SummerNightDream, plenty of room for conversation, new encounters, and enjoyment. Innovation flourishes where great people share ideas and build trust. The presentation by Juliana Dierks and Prof. Dr. Dr. Christian Dierks on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) was a perfect illustration of this. The EHDS demonstrates how digital sovereignty and the responsible handling of data in sports and healthcare are shaping the future. Anna Arzhanova, President of CMAS (e.g., diving) and the World Games (to be held in Karlsruhe and Berlin in 2029), honored RISE with her presence and made strong commitments.

What’s next? Stay tuned! Sports are a perfect example of how RISE creates value for athletes, organizations, spectators, and social cohesion around the world. From software engineering to state-of-the-art data centers to the latest AI models, RISE sets the standard where others are just talking about trends.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this exciting day happen - producers and consumers alike! Let’s celebrate, grow, and shape the future together.