Web Summit is claimed by many to be the largest technology conference in the world.
A very serious statement that is confirmed by the figures this year:
70,469 participants from 163 countries, while 46.3% are female.
Visitors from England, Germany, Brazil, and the United States are the most numerous.
When it comes to speakers, exactly 1206 of them were at this conference. They spoke on 22 different stages. Also, there were 2526 accredited journalists reporting from this gathering.
Web Summit was this year quite focused on Startups, of which there were 2150. Also, there were 239 conference partners presenting at the conference.
In addition to this conference in Portugal, Web Summit is also held in Canada, called Collision, and in Hong Kong, called RISE.
And these are all figures that are very impressive. However, an event like this is first and foremost a gathering place for people, tech enthusiasts, businessmen, enthusiasts and all of them together to create an energy that can only be felt on the spot. We will do our best to convey at least a part of the atmosphere in three texts. But, let’s have some kind of order.
Lisbon is a city that captivates with its originality. The city, with a population of 500,000 inhabitants, is completely open to all people, regardless of their origin and race. That’s why all 70,000 visitors feel special, almost like at home. The conference was held at the Altice Palace, extremely near the coast itself.
The grand opening began on Monday, 04.11. at 17h. The hall was able to accommodate nearly 20,000 people, and according to the organizers, at least 10,000 more stayed in front of the hall and watched the event on the big screens. The organizers called the event “Opening night”. The opening began with the 16 most promising startups in the opinion of the organizers’ committee. Each of them had the opportunity to present their company and product in 5 minutes.
Following the startup presentations, WebSummit founder Paddy Cosgrave addressed visitors in the hall. He announced one of the key names of this year’s conference, Edward Snowden, a man who stood up against the system in America and reported numerous human rights violations and wiretapping of a large number of citizens. Edward Snowden now lives in an asylum, in Russia, from where he enrolled live in the opening ceremony.
Edward was greeted with stormy applause and a standing ovation from the visitors.
Afterward, we had the opportunity to learn more about women’s entrepreneurship, which is on the rise both in Portugal and around the world.
The next was Guo Ping, CEO of Huawei. He gave an inspirational talk about 5G technology and all the benefits one such technology brings to us.
20 operators are currently using the 5G network for commercial purposes, and by the end of 2020, at least 60 are expected to use it. There are many and many benefits of 5G technology in medicine, navigation, but mostly in the use of artificial intelligence.
Web Summit is extremely active in promoting the conservation of the environment, so at the opening, a panel discussion was held on the importance of the drinking water and major problems due to its lack in many countries around the world.
Finally, the Prime Minister of Portugal, as well as the Mayor of Lisbon, welcomed all the participants of the summit and called on them to really feel at home.
The summit participants then moved on to the unofficial part of the conference, the so-called Night Summit, which has become a recognizable event all these years since the web summit has been organized.
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