The so-awaited event is back in Lisbon and the whole city celebrates it.
"Earlier this year it was unclear if the Web Summit was going to take place at all," Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave told a news conference. "But as we began to see events take place in Europe, we felt that we could commit."
The Web Summit is not like any other event, it brings together the people and companies redefining the global tech industry.
Last year due to Covid-19 we saw a great online Web Summit with their own platform that, somehow, replicated pretty well the experience you have offline, along with some extra features like the chat hour.
It is a pleasant experience to see how everyone in Lisbon knows about the Web Summit and how the city comes together for the 4 days. Signs are placed in different parts of the city and if you have your ID hanging on your neck other people attending the Web Summit will come and talk to you in the streets, restaurants and even in supermarkets.
The event has contributed to Portugal's economy, tourism, and startup development.
Reuters: "The Web Summit has contributed around 15% to Portugal's economy and the increase in income from tourism"
Portugal News wrote in 2018 that the Web Summit agreed when they renew their contract to run the Web Summit in Lisbon for 10 more years, to a €3 billion buyout clause. The buyout clause is the minimum expected economic impact of Web Summit to Portugal over the duration of its contract and provides security to Portugal that Web Summit will remain in its capital for the 10 year period.
It was estimated by the Government of Portugal that Web Summit generated more than €300 million in economic impact for the country, and has also helped elevate Portugal and Portuguese companies on the global stage.
This year the Web Summit kicked off Monday 1st of November at 5pm. People queued for about 50 minutes, everyone had to show proof of vaccination or negative Covid test and the use of a mask is mandatory apart from when eating, speaking on stage, or when being interviewed.
Entrance to the Web Summit
The Web Summit's Opening Night welcomed some interesting speakers this year on stage at the Altice Arena. The co-founder of Black Lives Matter, one of the biggest protest movements in US history, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, the founder of crypto-driven NFT fantasy football startup Sorare (which raised an incredible US$680 million last month)
Straight after the opening people made their way to the Night Summit, a list of places recommended by the Summit to go and have food and drinks while networking.
Credit: Web Summit
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