Lisbon City Council President Carlos Moedas said this Wednesday that the web summit “is a technological event, not a geopolitical event” and that it should not be confused with the co-founder’s views on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“We are in daily contact with this event. We know what happened with a comment about geopolitics made by someone who has responsibility but who is not the Web Summit,” said the Social Democratic mayor.
Carlos Moedas’ statements were made this morning in Lisbon, on the sidelines of the Tour of Spain Stage 1 presentation, after being questioned by journalists over a social media post by Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Paddy Cosgrave wrote a post on social network X (formerly Twitter) on October 13 that has attracted several criticisms.
“I am impressed that the rhetoric and actions of many Western leaders and governments, with the particular exception of the Irish government, are doing the right thing this time. War crimes are still war crimes, even if committed by the Allies, and they should be condemned for what they are,” Paddy Cosgrave said, speaking about the conflict.
Following publication, several companies announced they were canceling their participation in the event, which will take place from November 13 to 16 in Lisbon, a situation that led to Paddy Cosgrave stepping down as executive president (CEO) of Web Summit.
Among the companies that announced cancellations are Amazon, Meta, Google, Intel, Siemens and Israeli investors.
Commenting on the controversy this morning, the mayor of Lisbon repeated what he had already said over the weekend, insisting that the Web Summit is an innovation and technology event, not a geopolitical event, and assured that he is “committed to ensuring that everyone went well.” good”.
“I would really like this, and I think that it is important for Lisbon that the event goes well. Therefore, I will do everything to make it happen. As the mayor of Lisbon, this is my duty,” he said.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Economy and the Sea assured that the government remains “committed” to holding the web summit, adding that contacts established with various partners of the event show that conditions exist for it to proceed smoothly.
“In accordance with the agreement signed during the web summit, the government remains committed to hosting the event in this and future editions and will do everything to ensure that the initiative is implemented as planned,” the note said.
The web summit will take place in Lisbon from November 13 to 16, with 2,600 startups and approximately 70,000 participants expected to attend.