Taoiseach ‘disappointed’ at web summit move to Lisbon

It has also faced criticism for its business practices and overall execution. Cosgrave will be joined by Portugal’s Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas at the announcement. Writing in The Irish Times today, Mr Cosgrave said the event needed a new home for growth.

Co-founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave said this morning that after “careful consideration” the company had made a decision to move the event.

We want (the Web Summit) to continue to grow and for our attendees to get the best experience possible. It has launched a number of spin-off conferences, including Collision in the U.S. and RISE in Hong Kong.

The summit is to leave the Irish capital after five years.

“We chose Lisbon because of the strong infrastructure in the city, the wonderful venue and the thriving startup community”, said Paddy Cosgrave, chief executive officer of Web Summit. “We wish the Web Summit well and we look forward to continuing our work with them at home and overseas”.

The first staging of the Web Summit in 2010 was little more than a gathering of 500 members of Ireland’s growing technology community, but by 2013, the event had grown to attract over 10,000 attendees from 97 countries and the 2014 event attracted 20,000 attendees.

A spokesman said the spend was in line with that from other organisations wanting to “secure access and high-profile branding” at the events.

Even former attendees were lamenting the move, although it was tempered with some excitement about the new location.

State funding assistance and hotel infrastructure are some of the issues previously raised by Web Summit organisers and the conference is worth an estimated €100m to the local economy. The 2015 running of the event will take place in Dublin this November.

Mr Wright now finds himself amongst a group of people seeking to create a new event that could replace the Web Summit and improve on its practices that angered critics.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny who was at the National Ploughing Championships has said he is “very disappointed” to hear the worldwide Web Summit is moving to Lisbon in Portugal from next year and he added that he hoped that the summit would return to Ireland in the future. His party leader, Micheál Martin, labelled it “a hugely embarrassing development”.

It is understood Web Summit management have been in ongoing contact with the Irish Government, Dublin City Council, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland while it considered the bids from elsewhere.