In November 2019, 70,469 people from 163 countries gathered in Lisbon for Web Summit, Europe's largest tech event. The number seemed huge at the time and became the event's new normal: the 2024 edition brought together 71,528 attendees.
What stuck from that edition
The 2019 topics aged in different ways. Privacy and platform regulation dominated the stages and still do, now with laws in effect instead of bills. The debate over social media business models went where everyone expected. Artificial intelligence, meanwhile, showed up as a panel about the future, and today it's the topic that organizes the entire event — the gap between the two is five years.
The event changed hands and came back
Worth noting, since anyone researching Web Summit tends to run into this: in October 2023, founder Paddy Cosgrave stepped down after backlash over his comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict. His replacement lasted three months. In April 2024, he returned to the role of CEO.
The contract with the Portuguese government keeps the event in Lisbon until 2028, and the founder has publicly stated he wants to stay in the city permanently.
What's the point of attending an event this size
Seventy thousand people over four days is a number that impresses and gets in the way. Those who come back with results tend to have done three things, and none of them is attending lots of talks:
- Schedule ahead. Useful conversations are arranged weeks in advance, not found in the hallway.
- Pick a single goal. Finding a supplier, finding a partner, or finding a client are three different events within the same event, and trying all three yields none.
- Have something to show in two minutes. A demo that works on a phone, without relying on the venue's wi-fi, is worth more than a slide presentation.
That last point is usually what's missing. A demo that opens via QR code on the phone of someone you just met, with nothing to install, solves the objection before it comes up — it's what we build with interactive media for events and augmented reality.
Frequently asked questions
How many people attended Web Summit 2019?
70,469 attendees from 163 countries gathered in Lisbon between November 4 and 7, 2019. The event has kept that scale ever since—the 2024 edition drew 71,528 people.
What is Web Summit?
It's Europe's biggest technology, innovation, and startup event, held every year in Lisbon. It brings together roughly seventy thousand attendees from more than a hundred countries, including founders, investors, companies, and press.
Is Paddy Cosgrave still running Web Summit?
Yes. He stepped down in October 2023 after backlash over comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict, was replaced for a few months, and returned as chief executive in April 2024.
Is it worth going to an event like Web Summit?
It's worth it when there's real preparation behind it. Those who come back with results line up their conversations weeks in advance, pick a single goal—finding a supplier, a partner, or a client—and bring something they can demonstrate in two minutes without relying on the venue's Wi-Fi.