The Web Summit attracts more than 60,000 participants to Lisbon every year. Starting in 2019, Munich plans to host the mega-conference.
The Munich Trade Fair is applying to host the Web Summit 2019, and the City of Munich supports the bid. The City Council Committee for Labor and Economic Affairs unanimously decided yesterday.
With 60,000 attendees from nearly 200 countries, Web Summit is one of the largest tech conferences in the world. Previous speakers include Al Gore, U2 frontman Bono, Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger, media executive Arianna Huffington, actress Eva Longoria, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Last year, the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking gave a welcoming speech.
The event began in 2009 in a hotel near Dublin with 400 participants and has grown year after year. The event moved to Lisbon in 2016. The organizers of the Web Summit want to grow even further and are reaching their limits in Portugal's capital: The site built for Expo 1998 is simply too small for further expansion plans. 70,000 participants are already expected for 2019.
Image gain and money for the city coffers
The tech conference is set to find a new home in Munich for seven to ten years. If the application is successful, the city will provide €850,000 annually, which will be used, among other things, to provide free public transport tickets for participants. Overall, however, the Referat für Arbeit und Wirtschaft expects a significant financial boost for the city: additional tax revenue is expected to bring around €1 million annually into the city's coffers. This does not include the expected boost to Munich's image as a startup hub. Süddeutsche Zeitung says the Deputy Mayor Joseph Schmid:
“We are much better in the startup scene than people think.”
The adopted city council motion also states:
“The congress will contribute to maintaining Munich’s strong competitive position and thus have a very positive impact on the future viability of Munich as a technology location.”
Whether Munich will be awarded the contract will be revealed in November, when the organizers will announce their decision on the future of the major event.
