“The assumptions of the proposals are not met”, reads a note from BE, highlighting that this weekend “the president of Lisbon City Council was not able to guarantee that the event will take place and in what form”.

On Saturday, Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave resigned from his position after several companies cancelled their participation in the event, which takes place between 13 and 16 November in the Portuguese capital, following statements he made about the conflict involving Israel and Palestine.

The following day, in statements to the media, the mayor of Lisbon, the social democrat Carlos Moedas, declined to comment on Paddy Cosgrave's departure and highlighted that the Web Summit is a technology event “very important for the city " and “it is not a political or geopolitical event."

"Right now, what we have to do is work to ensure that the event goes well, because it is a very important event for the city, but it is an event that is carried out by a private operator, which also involves the Portuguese State", he said, ensuring that it “separates things” and distinguishes “what the founder is and what the company is”.

Carlos Moedas also reinforced that he “really wants this Web Summit to happen, that it happens in good conditions” and, therefore, the municipality will continue “to work towards this”.