Paddy Cosgrave, the outspoken co-founder and CEO of Web Summit, used a packed press conference on the fringes of his flagship technology gathering in Lisbon to hail the 2025 edition as the “best ever”, while deftly navigating a brewing row with Portugal’s government over private jet access and hinting at the event’s potential eastward shift towards China.
Speaking to a room buzzing with international journalists in the media village at the Altice Arena – the cavernous venue that has hosted the summit since its relocation from Dublin in 2016 – Cosgrave painted a picture of unbridled success. With a record 71,386 attendees from 157 countries and 1,857 investors from 86 nations – a 85% jump from last year’s 1,000 – the event has shattered previous benchmarks. “This year we had, for some reason – sometimes it’s hard to know why – a large increase in the number of investors,” Cosgrave said, his trademark blend of Irish charm and tech-bro candour on full display. “The opening night was absolutely perfect. And I was very, very happy with us.
The figures underscore Web Summit’s enduring pull as Europe’s premier tech jamboree, drawing everyone from AI pioneers and venture capitalists to policymakers grappling with digital equity. A standout was the presence of 82 international government delegations, the highest on record, including high-profile sessions on Europe’s technological sovereignty led by the European Commission’s Henna Virkkunen and a packed “China Summit” that Cosgrave described as “full of people interested in hearing diverse opinions about China”. He confirmed plans to repeat the China-focused strand next year, signalling a deepening engagement with Beijing’s tech ecosystem – a theme that echoed his earlier remarks on the opening day, where he positioned China as “the dominant force in artificial intelligence”.
Yet the buoyant mood was tempered by friction with Portuguese authorities. Infrastructure minister Miguel Pinto Luz had earlier criticised the summit’s organisers for what he called an “unacceptable” surge in private jet requests, up 70% year-on-year to 102 flights, with only seven denied due to capacity constraints at Humberto Delgado airport. Pinto Luz’s comments, delivered during a parliamentary hearing, painted the influx as emblematic of elite excess straining public resources in a country still recovering from wildfires and economic pressures.
Cosgrave pushed back with characteristic directness, framing the debate as a division of labour rather than discord. “The minister’s job is to ensure the infrastructure is perfect; my job is to bring the best people in the world to Lisbon and define who the best people are,” he retorted, viewing the spike as “one of many indicators of something interesting or positive”. He dismissed a recent public statement from one of his co-founders as “overly strong language” but insisted the denied requests stemmed from logistical hiccups, not overreach. The exchange highlights deeper tensions: Web Summit has long been accused of exacerbating Lisbon’s housing crisis through short-term lets and over tourism, though Cosgrave pointed to the event’s €500m annual economic boost as justification.
On the summit’s long-term home, Cosgrave poured cold water on speculation while leaving the door . The current deal with Lisbon runs until 2028, and he stressed it’s “too early” for renewal talks, which won’t begin for another two years. Still, he professed undying affection for the city, crediting Mayor Carlos Moedas – a former Goldman Sachs banker turned centre-right politician – for injecting “enthusiasm, commitment and professional experience” into the partnership.”Lisbon fits perfectly,” Cosgrave said, invoking rumours of a “new and huge venue” in the works. “That would be incredibly exciting.
Whispers of alternatives, however, refuse to fade. Sources close to the event suggested Poland was among locations floated as a post-2028 option, amid Warsaw’s aggressive push to become a European tech hub. Cosgrave was more effusive about Asia, musing that “it’s quite possible China will come to Web Summit in Lisbon in ever greater numbers” – and that the event itself might follow suit. “We’d consider going there,” he said, drawing parallels to satellite summits in Latin America and the Middle East. In a nod to geopolitics, he quipped that US president Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are currently “best friends”, though such alliances “can change quickly”. For European firms, he argued, ignoring China’s 1.4 billion consumers – or vice versa – is untenable: “Business shouldn’t be limited by tensions.
As the conference winds down on Thursday, Cosgrave’s words encapsulate Web Summit’s dual identity: a glittering showcase of innovation, shadowed by the very global frictions it seeks to bridge. For Lisbon, the question lingers – can the city sustain this tech influx without buckling, or will Cosgrave’s wandering eye turn east? With 2028 looming, the answers may redefine Europe’s digital map.