If you live in the capital or work in the tech industry, chances are you are well aware of what the Web Summit is. But if, like the majority of the country, you don’t, chances are the brouhaha about the conference taking Dublin by storm may well have passed you by.
So just in case you need filling in on the event, here are the five Ws of the Web Summit…
- What:
Originally billed as the Dublin Web Summit, the event is a giant tech conference held every year in Ireland. It brings together fledgling start-ups and established global companies, along with leading figures from the world of politics and celebrity, all to talk about the business of tech and how it affects us all.
2014’s Web Summit sees the conference expanding to cover the usual industry topics like marketing and enterprise, but also music, sport, food and surf, where the Taoiseach will welcome surfers from all over the world to hang ten on Mayo’s waves.
But, at its crux, it’s an opportunity for tech-industry professionals to network, and experience what Dublin can offer them.
- Who:
The Web Summit was founded by three Irish men, Paddy Cosgrave, Daire Hickey, and David Kelly, and now employs more than 100 people out of its offices in Ranelagh.
It also attracts some of the biggest names in the sector to speak and offer advice to up-and-coming companies. Speakers at this year’s event include the founders of pretty much every web application you use, including Stripe, Dropbox, Tinder, Hootsuite, The Huffington Post, and then some.
There’s also a big celebrity turn out this year, with Bono addressing the conference, and appearances by actors Eva Longoria and Adrien Grenier, as well as Jemima Khan, Jamie Heaslip, and Lily Cole.
Ok DUBLIN! Here I come, what is a must see and must eat when I land??
— Eva Longoria (@EvaLongoria) November 2, 2014
And then there are the attendees; coming from more than 100 countries, there are 20,000 people descending on Dublin for a mid-week event that will pack out hotels and pubs for the next couple of days.
- Where:
[WebSummit]
Bang in the middle of leafy Dublin 4 in the RDS – although there are fringe events taking place all across the city, as well as dinners and pub crawls not available to everyone with a ticket nor media pass. And for the first time, the Web Summit will split, with a second location in Westport hosting the Surf Summit – a celebration of the growing surfing culture in Ireland and worldwide.
- When:
It starts tomorrow, but if you haven’t got a ticket by now, the event has sold out. Running until Thursday, you can expect some big announcements and fascinating insights into the tech industry throughout the week.
That said, there will be a live stream of all of the talks from the Web Summit’s main stage, broadcast on YouTube.
Entrepreneurs gotta hustle #websummit pic.twitter.com/Te3MSaEE8K
— Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave) November 3, 2014
- Why:
The Web Summit is a commercial conference organised by a private company, but its impact on the Irish economy is not to be underestimated.
Fáilte Ireland alone reckons the event will generate €100m for the economy.
It’s not unfeasible to say that an entrepreneur or start-up among those 20,000 visitors could be the next big app or website to rock the digital world. And the opportunity for Dublin to display its credentials as a tech hub has brought jobs to the capital in the past, so expect to hear a few good announcements over the next three days.
And when it comes to those headlines coming from the RDS, Newstalk has got you covered, with our live blog, video, interviews, and much more available from first thing tomorrow morning.
