Paddy Cosgrave confirmed today (03) that the first WebSummit outside Europe will take place in Brazil, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, ensuring that South America is “on fire” in entrepreneurship.
According to what was revealed, the idea had already been put forward before the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed conferences around the world, but now the Web Summit will even jump to Brazil, more specifically to Rio de Janeiro, and has a date set for 2023, with a calendar set for May 1 to 4, 2023.
"Brazil has been a sleeping giant for some time, but it is gaining strength and accelerating“, stated Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO of Web Summit at the press conference.
In his speech, he used data to indicate that the area of technology and startups is expanding and that it already has 21 unicorn companies and that Rio de Janeiro is gaining a reputation as a startups hub.
The manager says that the organization looked at several countries and cities in South and Central America and ended up settling in Rio.
“IT IS A GLOBAL AND FANTASTIC CITY […] FOR MANY ENTREPRENEURS IT WILL BE THE FIRST TIME IN RIO DE JANEIRO”, DEFENDED PADDY COSGRAVE WHO CONFERRED HE IS IN LOVE WITH RIO DE JANEIRO.
BUT: Web Summit 2021: National startups present with very positive performance
Questioned about the agreement with the authorities, Paddy Cosgrave explained that the partnership with the city is similar to the one that was made in Lisbon, with a contract for 3 years and with an option to extend it, but he did not disclose the values. The mayor of Rio indicated the value of 1 billion reais, but admitted that the impact could be greater.
"We see the Web Summit as a great moment and a turning point for Brazil“, said the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes. 🇧🇷We hope it will be held here for a long time.", he defended, indicating that "we don't see the Web Summit as a technology conference".
The idea is that Rio de Janeiro will be able to replicate the success of the conference in Lisbon, said Eduardo Paes, stressing that he hopes that “consolidate Rio as the main hub in South America".
In the first year, Web Summit Brasil aims to have more than 10 international participants and will take place at the Riocentro convention center, which has around 87.000 square meters of covered space.
Paddy Cosgrave also said that the idea is to announce more Web Summits outside Europe. 🇧🇷This is part of a broader plan for the Web Summit to become a conference in the most interesting cities in different geographies.".
According to the CEO of the Web Summit, this is the right brand to extend the conference and “in 2021 there were already thousands of Brazilians participating in the event in Lisbon🇧🇷 But the idea is to continue to increase the number of people who come to Portugal, admitting Paddy Cosgrave that he may stay in the city after 2028 but that he is also looking at other cities.
"For more than a decade we have other events around the world, with Collision and RISE […] Lisbon doesn't have to worry, the Web Summit has been extraordinary in Lisbon“, said Paddy Cosgrave who says he fell in love with Rio and that it is a place of growth and has a great atmosphere for the conference. Remember that the same passion was declared several times to Lisbon but now the CEO of the Web Summit admits that the location is reaching the limit of its capacity.
