The vibe shift is real

If you can believe it, Web Summit Vancouver almost never happened. At least, that’s what Web Summit founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave revealed during a press conference at the conference’s inaugural Vancouver edition.

Initially, Cosgrave ruled Vancouver out entirely when the company was looking to relocate its Toronto event—formerly known as Collision—and align it under the broader Web Summit umbrella. But as Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim noted, “Once you’ve been to Vancouver, you’re hooked.” And that’s exactly what happened to Cosgrave.

A dedicated local contingent, including then-B.C. Innovation Minister Brenda Bailey and longtime Vancouver tech champion Casey Lau (who now serves as Web Summit executive vice president and Vancouver’s co-host), convinced Cosgrave to at least book a flight. The rest is history.

Today, Cosgrave calls Vancouver a “world-class city” with the tech chops to host Web Summit for at least the next three years. And Sim hopes that by the end of this initial contract, the event will draw upwards of 40,000 attendees and help generate more homegrown successes—“fifteen to twenty” startups with the potential impact of a LayerZero, a local unicorn.

Cosgrave also pointed to international factors. With rising geopolitical tensions south of the border, he sees Vancouver as a safe, globally connected destination—close to key U.S. tech hubs, yet uniquely positioned. “Web Summit is very international—we have attendees from over 100 countries,” he said (117, to be exact). “If you look at the data for international delegates in Las Vegas, which is a conference capital, those numbers are down 25 to 30 percent in a very short period.”

Mayor Sim noted that the City has already hit all of its success targets, but that the biggest impact may be something harder to quantify: the way this conference makes the city feel.

And if you attended Web Summit—or one of the many buzzing side events across the city—chances are you felt it, too. That energy will be tough to replicate, but even more incredible to build on in the years to come.