As a major event in the realm of emerging technologies, the Web Summit brings thousands of visitors and media members every year to attend conferences from the largest companies, start-ups and celebrities from all around the globe.
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(Come)back to the future
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the 2020 edition ended up being hosted fully online. But largely thanks to mass vaccination, the event made its much-awaited on-site comeback a year later, with participants having to display either a negative test or a valid digital certificate at the venue's entrance. From 1 to 4 November 2021, nearly 43,000 people from 128 countries travelled to Lisbon to attend the 13th edition of the Web Summit.
In 2022, those numbers almost doubled to 71,000+ attendees in just 4 days, and sound promising for this year too, with an expected 2,300 startups, 1,000+ investors and just as many speakers coming to share their views on emerging technologies and investment opportunities in a variety of markets from fintech to healthtech and also cybersecurity. With one common goal in mind: to keep on shaping our digital future by innovating together.
There's also a prize at stake, with a contest that allows start-ups to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of experts and make a name for themselves. 2022 title-holder Theneo is an AI platform from Georgia that allows for generating interactive, high-quality API documentation and converting it into several different programming languages, making it easier for developers to handle them.
A lineup full of big names
Described as « the world's premier tech conference » by Politico, and even « a grand conclave of the tech industry's high priests » by the prestigious New York Times, the Web Summit builds its reputation upon the quality and diversity of its speakers, among which are tech gurus, CEOs, entrepreneurs, big tech executives, and also several figures from politics and sports.
In this year's edition, Nick Clegg and Maxine Williams from Meta are expected to be heard, and so are Brad Smith from Microsoft and Vishal Sharma, Alexa AI's vice-president from Amazon. Other relevant companies are also invited, from Fitbit to Visa, Bolt, Mozilla, Seat and also Canva, Miro and Hootsuite.
Other familiar names include Margrethe Vestager and Didier Reynders, both representing the European Commission, while the younger attendees will be delighted to see the likes of former football legends Roberto Carlos and Patrice Evra on stage, as well as actor Taylor Zakhar Perez and youtuber Caspar Lee.
Get your agendas (and wallets)!
Looking forward, the dates of the 2023 edition are already set: this time, the Web Summit will take place from 13 to 16 November at the same venue — Lisbon's Altice Arena & Fil. While ticket prices start at a whopping €995, group offers are also available if you're coming with your friends or co-workers. After all, this could be a unique opportunity to promote your start-up if you're an entrepreneur, or a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you're a sucker for tech. So, why not giving it a shot? See you in Lisbon maybe!
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