It is now confirmed that the massive annual Collision Conference, one of the world’s largest tech conferences, will be leaving Toronto for its new home of Vancouver in 2025.
The announcement today comes just days ahead of the start of what will be the final Collision Conference in Toronto, which will take place from July 17 to 20, 2024.
The inaugural conference in Vancouver will be held in May 2025, and it will be named “Web Summit Vancouver.” The precise dates will be announced at a later time.
It is deemed to be North America’s fastest-growing tech conference, with over 40,000 attendees from more than 130 countries. The conference assembles high-profile individuals from around the world, bringing together thousands of international thought leaders in tech, unicorn founders, investors, startups, and media.
“Vancouver is ready to welcome the world. We’re a young, energetic city full of opportunity,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim in a statement today.
“Nowhere is that more obvious than in our thriving tech scene, where we’re advancing leading edge technology like virtual reality and augmented reality. Vancouver is attracting highly skilled people from around the world drawn here by our lifestyle, incredible natural surroundings, and the chance to be part of something exciting.”
This follows a concerted effort by levels of government and the business and tourism community to woo event organizer Web Summit to keep the event in Canada, and choose Vancouver as the conference’s new permanent home.
The effort was led by local tourism authority Destination Vancouver, in partnership with the federal government’s Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), the Government of British Columbia’s Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, the City of Vancouver, and local tech industry leaders.
Web Summit is also behind other major tech events such as Rise in Hong Kong, Surge in Bangalore, and MoneyConf in Dublin.
“We can’t wait to gather the tech world in Vancouver and take over the city next year. Last month I flew to Vancouver to check out the city and meet Mayor Ken Sim and Destination Vancouver. I was so blown away by its beauty and tech scene. It’s the perfect place to bring the tech world,” said Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Web Summit.
“Similar to Lisbon, Vancouver and British Columbia might seem like the underdogs at first but the energy and drive to build on an already very fast-growing technology ecosystem blew me away.”
Vancouver Convention Centre will play a central role for the event, and other major venues across Metro Vancouver are also expected to see prominent uses.
Destination Vancouver estimates Web Summit Vancouver will produce substantial local economic spinoffs, with nearly $57 million in direct spending and over $93 million in overall economic impact for British Columbia in its first year.
Throughout its life in Toronto to date, starting with the inaugural Toronto conference in 2019 followed by the event’s post-pandemic return in 2022 and 2023, the event had a cumulative three-year local economic impact of $189 million.
“We knew Vancouver was the right place for Web Summit,” said Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver. “A transformational event of this calibre will continue to build our reputation as an exceptional host city and sharpen Vancouver’s global destination competitiveness.”
This year’s final event in Toronto will feature over 800 speakers, 1,400 media, 1,000 investors, 2,000 exhibiting startups, 340 impact startups, and 300 partners from around the world.
More to come…