Web Summit 2014: the event numbers

The Web Summit is ended. Three intensives days focused on technology, innovation and startups on the international scene. The startups that exhibited for the Alpha, Beta and Start are just a small part of a really busy agenda that covered different topics. I also exhibited the first day, as a Beta, with the USA startup LeaDNA, and the rest of the days I enjoyed the event as a Media with TheWebMate! A unique occasion to meet hundred of interesting and motivated people.

-> SEE ALSO: WEB SUMMIT 2014: THE ITALIAN STARTUPS!

But let’s talk about some numbers: 22,000 attendees from 109 countries, 614 speakers, 2,160 start-ups exhibiting for 700 investors, 1,324 journalists and 2,200 staff taking part over the course of three-day at Dublin’s RDS.

The social media hype was also incredible…

• 120,000 tweets published
• Tweets have come from over 40,000 unique Twitter accounts
• Tweets per minute peaked between 11am and 2pm on Tuesday (coinciding with Eva Longoria’s Main Stage and Food Stage appearances).
• Longoria was the most-mentioned speaker at the Summit to date – appearing in almost 3,000 tweets.
• In addition to the 22,000 attendees, people tuning into the Livestream also got involved in the discussion – with ‘stream’ and ‘livestream’ appearing in over 1,500 tweets.
• Oculus Rift has been the most talked about technology so far – with the terms ‘Oculus’ and ‘Oculus Rift’ appearing in over 3,500 tweets.
• NightSummit has featured in over 2,500 tweets, together with ‘bar’ (900+) and (‘pub’ 700+).
• Speaking of drinks, Coffee (920) has been talked about more often than Beer (360), Pints (170) and Whiskey (52).
• Food has also been key with ‘Food’ (1,500), FoodSummit (830) and GoodFoodIreland (820) all featuring prominently.
• Despite the issues with WIFI, the term appeared in less than 2,000 tweets.

Food Summit by numbers:

Some 50,500 people over three days got to taste and experience Irish food. There were…

• 432,000 tastings of Irish beef, lamb, pork, duck, chicken, fish, seafood, fruit and vegetables.
• 12,000 tastings of Irish ciders, craft beers and fruit juices.
• 480,000 grams of Irish dairy desserts used.
• 35,000 slices of cooked beef, ham and charcuterie consumed.
• 10,000 packets of Tayto eaten.
• 50,000 Waterford Blaas, Ulster Soda Farls and Irish Traditional Soda and Sourdough Breads provided.
• 10,000 tubs of Ice Cream and sorbets handed out.

I also met Paddy Cosgrave, the Founder of the event, and I asked him details about the future of the Summit and a possible expansion in other Regions. The reply was: “Yes! Why not, we are considering partnership with other Countries”.

The next rendezvous is in Las Vegas, the next 5th and 6th May, with Collision.

The approach the team had for the event organization is different from others. They didn’t hired event manager but computational physicists and software engineers to create a wider synergy. It is called “Engineering Serendipity” . More info in this post.

Can Europe’s biggest tech conference get any bigger? It can say Founder, Paddy Cosgrave, who reflected on this year’s event: