LISBON (Reuters) – Event organizers confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday that the Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference, will once again be held face-to-face in Lisbon next November after being held online in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Paddy Cosgriff, founder of Web Summit, said last November that the event venue, Altice Arena in Lisbon, had been booked for 2021 and that he expected to return face-to-face.
On Wednesday, the organizers said they are in regular contact with health authorities to hold an event to ensure health security in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
It has not yet been decided whether masks or tests will be necessary, but the venue for the event is designed to ensure social distancing is possible, Catherine Farrell, head of communications, told Reuters.
According to the Portuguese government’s current plans, compulsory mask-wearing outside will be lifted in September, but it will still be required during large gatherings and will be mandatory indoors.
Catherine Farrell said parts of the conference will be streamed online, as was the case before the pandemic.
More than 1,000 speakers and 1,250 startups are expected to attend this conference, which will take place from November 1-4, according to the Web Summit.
Last year, about 104,000 people took part in the event, which was held exclusively online. Organizers said they expect more than 40,000 people to attend the conference this year. Nearly 70,500 tickets have been sold for the 2019 edition.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldery, French version by Laura Marchoreau, Editing by Blandine Hinault)
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