Collision Conference moving to Vancouver from Toronto in 2025

Collision Conference in Toronto. (Collision Conference)

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.

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“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, including the Frontier Collective.

Web Summit is also behind other major tech conferences such as Web Summit Lisbon, Web Summit Rio de Janeiro, Web Summit Doha, Rise Hong Kong, and MoneyConf Dublin.

The decision to move Collision Conference to Vancouver also comes as a big nod to the city’s tech industry, which has seen wildly exponential growth over the past decade to become one of BC’s largest economic sectors in terms of the number of jobs the industry supports, with many of these jobs being high paying.

“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.”

The green roof at the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. (Vancouver Convention Centre)

canada place cruise ship terminal vancouver

The East Building of the Vancouver Convention Centre at the Canada Place pier (centre), and the West Building (right). (Destination Vancouver)

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, starting with the inaugural Toronto conference in 2019 and the event’s post-pandemic return in 2022 and 2023, the event had a cumulative three-year local economic impact of $189 million.

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.

Beyond the direct tourism spending impact of the significant influx of visitors, the makeup of Web Summit Vancouver’s attendees will also carry the long-term impact of promoting BC’s tech industry centred in Vancouver, attracting direct foreign investment and venture capitalist investment in local companies, promoting international trade with Canada, and promoting Vancouver as a tourism destination.

“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.”

It goes without saying that Web Summit Vancouver will be one of the largest conferences to be ever held in Vancouver, and the largest annual conference for the city.

Web Summit Vancouver’s inaugural conference in 2025 adds to what will already be a major year for conferences and conventions in the city.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) will host its 2025 International Convention from July 3 to 6 at the Vancouver Convention Centre and BC Place Stadium. This will be AA’s first International Convention in a decade, as the 2020 convention in Detroit was cancelled due to the pandemic. The convention is held once every five years in a new destination, and about 50,000 attendees from around the world are expected for the first convention in a decade in Vancouver.

Prior to Web Summit Vancouver, the largest tech-related conference hosted in the city was SIGGRAPH, which has been held four times at Vancouver Convention Centre — in 2011, 2014, 2018, and 2022. Previous SIGGRAPH events held in Vancouver saw up to 16,600 attendees. SIGGRAPH will be returning to Vancouver next year, from August 10 to 14, 2025.

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