Web Summit: the biggest tech event of the year; the biggest names in the industry on stage in front of our eyes; close to 43,000 lucky attendees from 128 countries – partners, investors, start-upers and officials. We read the announcements, we see the quotes, you can even watch the videos on YouTube. But how is it really to be there?

First of all… the app!

The Web Summit is mostly about networking and less about the speakers – the schedule is anyway so hectic and overlapping that you cannot watch everything that you would like to.  So, to make the most out of your time at the Web Summit, you must do your homework and download the app well in advance. 

In the app you have the whole schedule broken down per venue and day and from that you can curate your personal schedule.

Most importantly though, you can browse through the other participants, see who is going to be there and reach out in advance to book a meeting with those that interest you the most; with thousands of people attending, everyone’s schedule is super packed and little room is left for spontaneous meetings – unless of course you are standing in the same queue… You can use it to connect with the other participants, chat, scan someone’s badge to save their contact details, it includes a venue map, your ticket – everything! 

The organisers happily announced on the opening night that they have also sold the app to the United Nations Organisation for their meetings – but when they invited everyone at the same time to scan the badge of the person next to them, the system of course got overloaded and did not work! 

 

Arriving in Lisbon

 

The whole city knows about the Web Summit. The hotel owners and taxi drivers are happy with the full occupancy and people recognise the badges and special bracelets in the public transportation. 

There are signs everywhere at the airport, directing you to the large dedicated registration venue; there you get your badge (with your contact details included in a QR code) and your entrance bracelet. This year the extra mandatory accessories were the face mask and the COVID vaccination certificate (or equivalent COVID free certificate).

The venue

Like a big fair expo, really… Long lines to enter (think big football match), bag searches for the opening night, scanning machines the following days. 

Big open spaces with exhibition booths: start-ups, scale-ups, investors, partners… Everyone that participates one way or another has a stand somewhere. In between, you will find open areas with amazing stands providing international food, beers, cocktails, ice-creams… A real feast, or as they call it the ‘Food Summit’!

(All of it cash-free, but not for free – you pay with your credit card). 

 

The queues

Everywhere: to enter the venue, to leave the venue, to buy a ticket for the metro (pro-tip: buy several trips at once to avoid looooong queues at the exit in the evenings), to buy food…

 

The ‘Night’ Summit and the ‘secret’ summit

People of course enjoy the nightlife in Lisbon and everyone is chatting like crazy to find the next good party, the next hot venue, the best cocktail bar… Judging from the night activity, it is surprising that the day-time attendance is so high! 

And there are of course the VIP parties, the events where you need a special invite, the ‘behind the scenes’ Summit; who knows who was there and where those took place… 

 

On the scene

It is obvious that the Portuguese authorities are supporting heavily the Web Summit and they feel the country benefits from hosting it; many government officials, including the Lisbon mayor and ministers, had a slot in the opening night praising their capital.

The audience was less thrilled though for having them, judging from the comments in the open chat that they were very much along the lines ‘did I really travel 10 hours to listen to this?’ The sound at the central stage was also an issue: people were complaining about not being able to hear, or for having very bad echo. The fire-chats with the famous speakers were also too short to be of substance: 20 minutes with three speakers and an interviewer left too little space for meaningful discussions. 

The same duration was though far too long for a single speaker: it really felt as if they went on forever… 

 

 

The numbers

• 42,751 attendees
• 128 countries
• 50.5 percent women
• 748 speakers
• 1,333 talks
• 1,519 startups
• 872 investors
• 1,878 members of the media
• 211 partners

All in All?

Really amazing… if you are purposeful about your attendance, have a clear view on who to meet, which pitches, speeches and roundtables to watch. 

And the rest… well, you read about it in the app!