Web Summit co-founder and entrepreneur Paddy Cosgrave gave his final speech at the 2017 Web Summit. [+] Web Summit in Lisbon, November 9, 2017. Europe's largest technology event, Web Summit, takes place at Parque das Nacoes in Lisbon from November 6 to November 9. / AFP PHOTO / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Renowned global technology events organization Web Summit is introducing a new North American flagship event in Vancouver. Scheduled for May 2025, this first-in-North America Web Summit event marks the start of a new chapter for the Dublin-based company and will join its growing list of international events.
Web Summit events include Web Summit in Lisbon, Web Summit Rio in South America, Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East and RISE in Asia, which have attracted nearly one million attendees since beginning as a 150-person conference in Dublin in 2009. The newest event, Web Summit Vancouver, will launch in May 2025, succeeding Toronto's Collision, which has become the fastest-growing tech event in North America.
“We can't wait for the tech world to come together and take Vancouver by storm next year. Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities, home to a thriving tech community connecting the Americas, Asia and the West Coast. The time was right to transition Collision to Web Summit. We had an amazing time in Toronto and look forward to continuing our Canadian journey in Vancouver,” said Paddy Cosgrave, Founder and CEO of Web Summit.
Web Summit in numbers
In the past two years, Web Summit has launched three new events: Web Summit Rio in South America, which attracted more than 55,000 attendees in its first two years, and Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East, which welcomed 15,000 attendees in its first year. Web Summit's flagship event in Lisbon is expected to attract more than 70,000 attendees from over 150 countries this November. Overall, attendance at Web Summit events has grown 51% since 2022, with the 2024 event expected to attract more than 160,000 attendees by the end of the year.
“We are now present across four continents and will soon be bringing something to Africa as we continue our ambition to connect the world of technology and build meaningful and lasting communities around the world,” Padi added.
Web Summit aims to further this growth by taking over Vancouver in May 2025. With over 11,000 technology companies, technology is the fastest growing sector in the province. The tech sector is growing twice as fast as the overall economy, and Vancouver is number one in North America for high-tech job growth. Home to notable unicorns such as Dapper Labs, Blockstream, Trulio, Layer Zero Labs and Vizier, the city is also home to major tech companies such as Salesforce, Apple and Amazon.
Vancouver is ready to welcome the world
“Vancouver is ready to meet the world,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. “Vancouver is young, energetic and full of opportunity. Nowhere is this more evident than in our vibrant tech industry, which is advancing cutting-edge technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality. Vancouver attracts highly skilled talent from around the world, drawn by the lifestyle, stunning natural environment and the chance to be part of something exciting.”
Web Summit Vancouver aims to build on the success of Collision, which has generated $189 million in economic impact for Toronto over the past three in-person events (2019, 2022, 2023) and is projected to generate $77 million in economic impact next week. Web Summit Vancouver, which kicks off next May, is expected to attract thousands of tech enthusiasts from around the world and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy over the years. Destination Vancouver, a non-profit, member-driven organization dedicated to supporting Vancouver’s tourism industry, projects Web Summit Vancouver will generate $172 million in direct spending and $279 million in total economic impact for British Columbia over three years. Web Summit’s direct economic impact could reach up to €200 million per year in cities such as Lisbon, which will host the flagship event. Since Web Summit landed in Lisbon, Portugal’s startup economy has seen significant growth, with many young startups relocating to Lisbon and leading companies such as Mercedes, Revolut and Google opening offices in Lisbon.
“British Columbia has a 30-year track record of creating and advancing world-class technology and we want to expand our capacity to commercialize innovations and translate these successes into a sustainable competitive advantage for our province's economy,” said the Honorable Brenda Bailey, British Columbia's Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation (JEDI).
“Web Summit Vancouver is a transformative opportunity for our region and will create the conditions for continued growth for years to come,” emphasized the Honorable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister Responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan). He added, “Collision is an incredible success story for Canada's technology ecosystem. It was critical for our government to keep Web Summit in Canada and allow Vancouver to evolve and shape what Toronto has built.”
The final Collision event in Toronto is expected to attract more than 40,000 tech entrepreneurs from over 130 countries. In just a decade, Collision has evolved into the fastest-growing tech event in North America.
