ViennaUP'22 - Event in Vienna Excites Thousands of People
The Vienna International Business Festival ViennaUP'22 attracted 10,000 participants from all over the world this year. With the attention-grabbing event, the City of Vienna hits the bull's eye for international visibility and positioning in the startup scene.
The Vienna International Business Festival ViennaUP'22 inspired 10,000 participants from all over the world this year. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons, Dimitry Anikin, CC0
The Vienna International Business Festival ViennaUP'22 attracted 10,000 participants from all over the world this year. With the attention-grabbing event, the City of Vienna hits the bull's eye for international visibility and positioning in the startup scene.
After the startup event ViennaUP'22, the organizers draw a strong first balance: up to 10,000 visitors from 67 nations participated in this major event.
Over 60 individual events in 28 different locations in 11 Viennese districts were offered by around 30 different organizers over the festival period. With this successful event, Vienna fixes its international positioning as a world-class startup hub, ViennaUP'22 establishes itself as a European festival heavyweight already with its second edition.
"With ViennaUP'22, the city and the Viennese startup scene have secured a permanent place among the largest and most relevant startup festivals in Europe. We have developed enormously fast as a startup hub in the last two years and have caught up with the established startup hubs," said City Councillor for Economic Affairs Peter Hanke.
ViennaUP'22 combined the 60 individual events around the topics of technology, environment, social issues and women as business leaders with typical Viennese tradition and thus fully met the international taste. Hundreds of startups also gathered around the festival homebase at Karlsplatz during the event, for networking and exchange of experiences.
The entire Viennese startup scene and also Viennese institutions such as the Schwarzenberg, Bräunerhof, Wortner and Savoy coffee houses, the Viennese vintners and the Federation of Austrian Industries Vienna played a key role in the success.
12 million people reached worldwide in the target group
ViennaUP'22 was preceded by a striking international campaign that played out exclusively in business target groups in selected countries.
"12 million people interested in business found out about Vienna and the ViennaUP through the campaign," knows Gerhard Hirczi, Managing Director of the Vienna Business Agency.
With the successful digital communication measures and the resounding attendance record at ViennaUP'22, Vienna as a business location has established itself as a hub for the global startup scene.
On average, around 40% of participants came from abroad, despite perceptibly limited travel due to the pandemic.
Reactions from startups
The international startups traveled to Vienna from Pakistan, some African countries, the USA or Canada, among others. A particularly high proportion came from the CEE region. Some are already considering moving their business to Vienna.
Denby Royal, founder of the startup "Arbor" from Canada: "We are considering Vienna as our European headquarters. The quality of life and cost of living are really good for a young company like us. And also how easily accessible Vienna is - it's in the center of Europe."
And Joana Pinto, co-founder of Clynx from Portugal says, "The opportunity to be in Vienna, to connect with the local network, to have access to training and to be supported by mentors was crucial for us to immerse ourselves in the dynamics of the healthcare market in Austria and to understand how we can increase our impact on digital physiotherapy in the region!"
Event highlights of ViennaUP'22 included the largest European event for business leaders "Lead Today - Shape Tomorrow", which featured over 40 speakers alone, the world's largest startup competition "Startup Worldcup", the 3-day "Sustainable Blockchain Hackathon" and the "Connect Day 2022" as the central matchmaking event of ViennaUP'22 for startups, corporates/SMEs and investors. The "Creative Days Vienna" - a two-day focus for startups and companies in the creative industries - was dedicated to the question of how digital technology is changing our culture and creative industries.