| 1. POKEMON POP-UP BARS CANCELED OVER LEGAL ISSUES: Pop-up bars inspired by Pokémon have been canceled in cities including Austin, Detroit, Cleveland, and Montreal, after Viral Ventures, an Australian-based event company, didn’t ask permission from franchise owner Nintendo. The pop-ups are still slated to take place, however, but won’t have a Pokémon theme. Viral Ventures ran into a similar issue when launching a Lego-theme pop-up bar tour in 2018. Eater: “Viral Ventures is trying to push ahead with the pop-up, though: The Denver event has been pushed back several weeks, and attendees have reportedly been offered refunds or entry to the new event. The Pokébar website now redirects to an event called Monster Burger Bar, a ‘themed burger and trivia brunch,’ and dates for the Pokébar event in other cities have been scrubbed from the internet. Tickets in many cities, including Montreal, had not yet gone on sale before the rebrand. So, it seems that without the rights to use the name Pokémon or any of its characters, the company behind the pop-up is awkwardly trying to stage an off-brand version of the event.” 2. WHAT ARE INTEL’S TECH PLANS FOR THE 2020 OLYMPICS?: Intel’s presence at past Olympics have included tech-fueled spectacles like a drone light show at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. For the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the technology company’s initiatives will include 3-D Athlete Tracking on live broadcasts, virtual-reality experiences, and an A.I. facial recognition system that will be used for security and operations on site. Fortune: “Of course, email and satellite television are ingrained in the daily routines of millions now, but it can still be difficult to envision how exactly the growing ubiquity of, say, virtual reality or A.I. facial recognition technologies will play out. Rick Echevarria, Intel’s vice president of sales and marketing group, tells Fortune that while some of the technology they utilize will only be for use during the Games, the ultimate goal is for many to become a part of ‘long-lasting business solutions.’” 3. ORGANIZERS BLAME BOYCOTT FOR EMPTY STADIUM AT WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS: The World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, drew extremely low attendance and had a nearly empty stadium for events during the first three days of the competition. Organizers on Monday blamed the boycott of the country and late start times of events for the poor turnout. Reuters: “The 48,000-capacity venue was barely half full for the men’s 100 meters final on Saturday. On Sunday, when the women’s 100 meters headlined the action, it was almost completely empty and pole vault bronze medalist Ekaterini Stefanidi said it was the smallest crowd she had competed in front of this year, including at the Greek national championship. The absence of cheering fans meant the United States team who won the inaugural 4x400 meters mixed relay title on Sunday opted not to run a lap of honor and disappeared straight down the exit tunnel.” | 