Next year’s event will be “an extension of the existing deal” with local authorities, said Katherine Farrell, director of communications for organizer Web Summit. She declined to disclose how much municipal funding the firm was receiving for the additional year, directing questions to “the government.” (The Logic)
Talking point: In May 2018, Web Summit announced it would move Collision to Toronto from New Orleans for three years; after a pandemic-induced pause, this year was due to be its last in Toronto. Last month, BetaKit reported that Destination Toronto, a publicly funded visitor-attraction agency, was giving the conference $6.5 million in annual funding, and that WebSummit was seeking more than double that amount to sign another long-term deal. Destination Toronto CEO Scott Beck declined to disclose how much funding it is providing Collision, but said the city has provided the agency with $750,000 for each of the three years the physical conference has taken place. He cited Destination Toronto’s projections that the conference made a $188-million economic impact across those three years. Farrell said the city is among six currently bidding to host Collision after 2024.