Web Summit stays in Lisbon

THE Irish firm behind the Web Summit has confirmed it will stay in Lisbon for the next ten years after striking a €110million deal with the Portuguese capital.

The major internet conference, founded by Irishman Paddy Cosgrave, was originally held in Dublin, but moved after there were embarrassing Wi-Fi problems at the 2014 event. It has been in Lisbon since 2016.

According to Mr Cosgrave, there were negotiations with more than 20 cities including London, Berlin, Paris and Madrid to host the summit, but they ultimately decided to remain in Lisbon.

‘We’ve now a long-term home for Web Summit,’ he said. ‘Our partnership with Portugal gives certainty to our many attendees from over 170 countries around the world, and our thousands of partners and exhibitors. It also gives certainty to our host country, and to our team of nearly 200 in Dublin, and in our other offices around the world.’

The Web Summit began in Dublin in 2010 but ran into serious problems in 2014.

Mr Cosgrave had to apologise to attendees at the RDS that year for problems with the WiFi connection. He said the Web Summit had paid the RDS €400,000 for Wi-Fi.

He also noted traffic problems and high prices for hotels in Dublin, and wrote to the Department of the Taoiseach to complain.

The following year, the RDS said it had invested €3million in its internet and computer infrastructure, including a ‘superfast Vodafone 4G’ web connection.

However, in September 2015, Mr Cosgrave announced that the Web Summit had signed a three-year deal with Lisbon to host the conference from 2016.

It has since grown to be one of the largest tech conferences in the world, with more than 60,000 people from 170 countries expected to attend the event next month.

The government of Portugal estimates the Web Summit has generated more than €300million for the country’s economy.