WEB Summit, one of the biggest tech events, has kicked off its first in-person conference in two years in Lisbon, Portugal, welcoming 42,751 attendees from 128 countries, and for the first time in the event's 10-year history, there are more women than men in attendance.
Out of 42,751 attendees, and counting, from 128 countries – 50.5 per cent women.
At what is the biggest gathering in tech since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the event sold out on Sunday after reaching capacity – due to Covid restrictions, down from 70,469 in 2019.
According to the organiser, for the first time in the event's 10-year history, there are more women attending than men. A total of 50.5 per cent of attendees this year are women. This percentage has been rising since 2016 after the launch of Web Summit's Women in Tech initiative. The company has seen representation grow to this from 45.8 per cent in 2020 and 46.3 per cent in 2019.
The event features 748 speakers and 1,333 talks, comprising a mix of world leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, tech developers, sports stars, musicians and actors who are impacting their fields and who have unique insights to share. You can expect to hear from Amy Poehler, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Samuel Eto'o, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Justin Winters, to name just a few of our speakers.
As the Web Summit is also known for a gathering of start-ups, there are 1,519 start-ups gather in the citu of Lisbon for the event to showcase their inventions.
Nearly 2,000 members of the media are also covering the event.