Sharapova at Web Summit — conference continues policy of attracting russians

From November 10 to 13, Lisbon will host one of the world’s most influential technology conferences, Web Summit. 

This year, russian Maria Sharapova, who is presented on the event’s website as a “tennis legend,” is among the announced speakers. According to the source, Sharapova is originally from the Tyumen region of russia.

Sharapova’s participation continues a series of controversial decisions by Web Summit organizers to involve russians in the conference.

Previous Web Summit scandals

The organizers of Web Summit have repeatedly been involved in scandals related to political issues and the participation of speakers:

• In 2022, the conference announced pro-russian speakers who, according to a source, denied Ukraine’s sovereignty and the destruction of Mariupol.

• In 2023, Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave effectively expressed support for Palestine after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing civilians and taking hostages. He subsequently resigned from his position.

• Yulia Navalnaya, leader of the so-called russian opposition, spoke at the conference in 2024, but her speech was disrupted by Ukrainian activists.

Despite the organizers’ controversial decisions, Ukraine will be represented at the Web Summit by an official delegation. It includes 15 Ukrainian startups. Among them are StackBob.ai, LifesaverSIM, LifeStyleCamper, and others.

Read more: The US will provide Ukraine with intelligence data for strikes deep inside Russia. What is known?