Government and Lisbon city dignitaries join ribbon-cutting ceremony as SBC Summit returns to the Portuguese capital
LISBON, Portugal – [29 September] Multiple Portuguese government and Lisbon city dignitaries turned out to welcome SBC and its 40,000 attendees to the city for the third year running, taking part in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of SBC Summit.
The Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, delivered the event’s opening remarks ahead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, where officials were joined by SBC leadership and the event’s key sponsors. The dignitaries then took part in a VIP tour of the exhibition floor at Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL), meeting industry leaders, exhibitors and SBC Summit partners.
Officials in attendance included:
- Maria Luísa Aldim, Deputy Mayor for Innovation and Social Development
- Rita Prates, CEO, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa
- António Ramalho, Vice President, FIL
- António Valle, Director-General, Turismo de Lisboa
- Carlos Abade, President, Turismo de Portugal
- Jorge Vinha da Silva, CEO, MEO Arena
Senior representatives from several of SBC Summit’s major sponsors also attended the ceremony, including SoftConstruct, Digitain, Alea, EGT and Amusenet, joining city officials and SBC leadership.
- Vigen Badalyan, Founder & CEO, SoftConstruct
- Vardges Vardanyan, Founder, Digitain
- Alex Tomic, Founder, Alea
- Vladimir Dokov, CEO, EGT
- Ivo Georgiev, CEO, Amusenet
Rasmus Sojmark, CEO & Founder of SBC, said: “We are very happy to have the support of the city we have chosen to host our biggest and most ambitious event. Year on year, Lisbon is proving to be the perfect fit, and we’re grateful for all the support we’ve received so far, and for the time everyone here today has chosen to dedicate to attending and welcoming our attendees to Lisbon.”
Ahead of the ceremony, officials were hosted at the MEO Arena, Lisbon’s largest indoor venue and one of the biggest in Europe, for a Leadership in Sports Business keynote that will go down as one of the most high-profile ever staged in Europe, cementing Lisbon’s place in that history. Basketball icon, investor and philanthropist Michael Jordan, Sportradar founder and CEO Carsten Koerl, and DraftKings co-founder, CEO and Chairman Jason Robins joined broadcaster Kirsty Gallacher on stage for the conversation.
This continues a pattern of high-level engagement from city and government officials: Mayor Carlos Moedas and then-Minister of Economy Pedro Reis attended personally when the event first relocated from Barcelona.
The event’s economic footprint has grown alongside it: in its first year alone, SBC Summit generated approximately €100 million in indirect economic benefit for Lisbon, drawing visitors from 150 countries last year, up 22 on 2024. This year, the organiser estimates 85,000 room nights booked by attendees descending on the city, with final attendance figures still being confirmed.
In its third year in the city, SBC Summit is introducing plenty of firsts, including a standalone summit for the affiliate and performance marketing community, Affiliate Leaders Summit, alongside the Global Prediction Markets Forum and the African Gaming Forum. Attendees can also expect a brand-new structured networking programme, an Opening Party featuring a headline performance from multi-platinum-selling band The Script, high-profile keynotes with football transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, known worldwide for breaking major signings, and UFC champion Charles Oliveira, and a closing Infinity Lisbon night headlined by one of the best DJs of our era, Tiësto.
The global event will return to Feira Internacional de Lisboa and the MEO Arena on 21-23 September 2027.
For more information, visit sbcevents.com/sbc-summit.
For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, reach out to [email protected]. For general enquiries, contact [email protected].
