Paddy Cosgrave anticipates in-person Web Summit in 2021
Organization anticipates a mixed edition - in-person and virtual - next year. Paddy Cosgrave, CEO and founder of the Web Summit, estimates that attendance could reach 150 thousand people.
Web Summit has already booked the space to hold the world’s largest entrepreneurship and technology conference next year, meaning that in 2021 the event will happen in-person. The guarantee was given by the event’s founder and CEO. “The venue is booked,” said the Irish, in an interview with Reuters, published this Wednesday. “I think by November (next year) the Web Summit will be happening in-person and I can’t wait.”
This year and for reasons related to the new coronavirus pandemic, both the event the team holds in Canada, in June, and the Web Summit in Lisbon have switched to a 100% virtual presence that the organization called “from home”. The conference would mark this year’s fifth edition from the Portuguese capital, the location where the event moved to in 2016 after deciding to leave Dublin.
In 2021, the organization expects to have 70,000 assistants, in person and over 80,000 online, mixing in-person and virtual experiences and a way to “attract more people, from more places”. “I have no doubt that it will be very good to have everyone back in Lisbon,” said Paddy Cosgrave, adding that an online option may please people living in places like Japan or New Zealand.
The contract with the Portuguese government establishes that the Web Summit will continue to be held in Portugal until 2028. This year and despite its 100% digital version, Portugal will continue to pay the organization around 11 million euros per year foreseen for holding the event in Lisbon.
