Check out the Twitch stream of the Pokémon GO Fest stream below!

Watch live video from PokemonGO on www.twitch.tv

10:45 (CDT) – The host and Niantic CEO, John Niantic, addressed the crowd prior to the first challenge starting. Pikachu Raid Battles will occur during the event. They do not take up any Raid Passes and grant 3,500 XP.

Meanwhile reports have come in of mobile service coverage issues in the area. This may seem unsurprising if you look at the crowd…

Incidentally, Masuda of Game Freak royalty is here!

I'm going to Chicago!
いまからシカゴに行ってきまーす！#PokemonGOFest will be streamed live on Twitch! Watch live this Saturday at https://t.co/qfMYzlAvEy.

— 増田順一@Pokémon (@Junichi_Masuda) July 21, 2017

11:05 – The first GO Challenge has started! There are Heracross spawning at the event.

11:15

Players, we are experiencing some technical difficulties and are currently working to resolve them.

— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) July 22, 2017

11:50 – After some talk following the end of the first challenge from representatives of each team, a Trainer Tips video on Raid Battle was shown. It lasted a minute before it was cut abruptly however.

We’ll update as info comes in.