The 2014 Web Summit conference is expected to bring in more than €100m to the Irish economy with over 20,000 people expected to attend the event.
Europe’s largest tech event will host attendees from 109 countries with over 2,000 start-ups exhibiting to 700 potential investors.
The €102m will be spent by the large number of overseas guests attending the event.
Apart from the main events being held at the RDS in Ballsbridge, a total of 87 venues are being used across the city, with as many as 13,000 hotel rooms and B&Bs being booked well in advance.
However, despite the huge business that is being created by the influx of foreign visitors, hotels around the city have been criticised for the apparent inflation of prices during the event.
Magnet
As well as the attendees, investors and start-ups attending the event, the summit is also a magnet for other conferences that have arrived in Ireland this week to capitalise on the Silicon Valley investors here, adding further to the city’s revenues.
For the second consecutive year, the NASDAQ opening bell will ring at the Web Summit.
It will be rung by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave.
The ceremony will be displayed live on NASDAQ Market Site Tower, the digital screen in the heart of Times Square, and will signal one of the few times the opening bell has been struck outside of the US.
Speaking about the opening bell, ceremony Enda Kenny said it was a thrill to participate in such an iconic tradition.
Unique
“I’m delighted to be ringing the opening bell for the NASDAQ during the truly unique event that is the Web Summit,” he said.
The Taoiseach also acknowledged how important the creation of jobs is to Ireland’s economic recovery and insisted it was the Government’s aim to aid this in any way.
“The Web Summit fittingly represents the vibrancy and the tech sector in Ireland. The Government is determined to secure the country’s economic recovery by supporting the creation of jobs and one of the ways we will meet that challenge is by continuing to build on Ireland’s success as a digital hub.”
Several key sponsors are backing the conference including Google, KPMG and Independent News and Media, who publish the Herald.
