A stand, a partner package or a side event at Web Summit Qatar 2027 puts you in front of one of the largest technology audiences that gathers in Qatar. The 2026 edition drew more than 30,000 attendees, 1,600 startups and 800 investors, according to the Government Communications Office. It also puts you in competition with hundreds of other companies for the same people's attention, over a few intense days.
This guide is for the companies on the other side of the badge: partners and exhibitors, startups selected for the startup programme, pavilions, and anyone hosting a side event during summit week. It counts back from the opening day, 31 January 2027, and draws on ARZO's own work at Web Summit Qatar and on events we run across Qatar. For the dates, venue, tickets and getting there, see our Web Summit Qatar 2027 guide.
One rule comes before everything else. Web Summit's partnership team sets the official deadlines for stand designs, passes and deliveries. Treat those dates as fixed, and build your own plan around them.
Decide what the summit is for
Every later decision, from the stand design to who staffs it, depends on what you want from the week. Choose one main objective and no more than two secondary ones:
- Sales leads with companies and government entities.
- Investor meetings, if you are a startup raising a round.
- Partnerships with companies and organisations in Qatar.
- Brand visibility, for a launch or an entry into the Qatar market.
- Hiring, if you are building a team in Doha.
Then agree how you will measure success: qualified leads, meetings held, follow-up calls booked, content produced. Our guide to measuring event success explains how to set measures you can actually prove afterwards.
The countdown to 31 January
The timings below are a working guide for a typical stand. A large custom build needs longer, and a startup table needs less. What matters most is the order of the steps and the buffer between them.
Fourteen to ten weeks out: commitments
Confirm your package with the partnership team, or your place in the startup programme. Ask for the exhibitor information and its deadlines straight away: stand dimensions, build rules, power, the number of passes included and delivery windows.
Book hotel rooms for everyone who will work the stand. If you plan a side event, secure the venue now, because function rooms near West Bay are in high demand during summit week.
Ten to six weeks out: design and people
Brief the stand design against your main objective. A stand built for investor meetings needs quiet seating; one built for leads needs open space, a strong demo and a quick way to record details. Submit drawings for approval in good time, and expect at least one round of comments.
At the same time, brief your staffing partner on the team you need, agree a content plan, and draft the invitation list for any side event.
Six to two weeks out: production and preparation
Produce and check graphics, print, screens and anything built for the stand. Finalise the team and its shift plan, prepare a one-page briefing, and train everyone on the product, the key messages and how to record leads.
Complete your profile in the official app and start booking meetings. The people you most want to see fill their diaries weeks before the summit. Send side-event invitations at least three weeks ahead.
The final week
Confirm delivery and installation slots, passes for everyone working on the stand and a named contact at the venue. Rehearse the demo and the visitor journey in full, and test lead capture from start to finish. Our brand activation timeline covers the build and installation steps in more detail.
Build the right stand team
At a technology summit, the people on the stand decide whether a passing visitor turns into a conversation. A strong team usually combines three roles:
- Hosts who welcome visitors, ask the first question and bring in the right colleague. They keep the stand open and inviting while your experts are in meetings.
- Product or technical experts who run the demo and answer detailed questions.
- A decision-maker who can take a serious conversation further on the spot.
Plan shifts with proper breaks. Summit days are long, and tired staff stop approaching people by mid-afternoon. English is the working language of the summit, so every host needs confident English. Arabic is a real advantage with government entities and local companies, and a bilingual host at the front of the stand often starts conversations that others miss.
If you need hosts, brand ambassadors or temporary specialists, ARZO's outsourcing team provides trained staff in Qatar. Our guide to what drives event staffing costs in Qatar explains how to budget for them.
Record every lead the same way
Agree one method for recording leads, whether that is a scanner, a form on a tablet or the official app, and make sure everyone on the stand uses it. Add a short note to each lead while the conversation is fresh: what they need, how interested they are and the next step you agreed. A stack of business cards with no notes is worth very little a week later.
Plan your content before you arrive
A few days at Web Summit can produce weeks of content: your speakers on stage, demos, interviews with partners and the atmosphere on the stand. Most of it is lost when nobody is assigned to capture it. Decide in advance:
- Which moments you need covered, and who will cover them.
- What you will post on the same day, and who approves it quickly.
- Which interviews you want to film, and with whom, booked beforehand.
- What the organisers allow: check the media and filming rules for the venue and for sessions.
Our guides to planning social media content from one event and what to agree with your coverage team before the day go into the details. ARZO's multimedia team covers events in Qatar with photography, video and same-day edits.
Hosting a side event during summit week
A well-run breakfast, reception or dinner can do more for relationships than days on a stand, because your guests give you their full attention. Summit week is crowded, so the details matter:
- Timing. Avoid clashing with headline sessions and the Night Summit programme. Breakfasts before the conference day and early-evening receptions tend to work well.
- Location. Choose a venue close to West Bay, or arrange transport. Few guests will cross Doha in peak traffic for a reception.
- Guest list. Expect some invited guests not to come, invite accordingly, and confirm attendance a few days before.
- Arrival. A clear guest list, a welcome desk and a host who knows your key guests by name make a strong first impression.
- Run of show. Even a ninety-minute reception needs a timed plan for arrivals, remarks and the close. See our guide to building a run of show.
After the summit: follow up within a week
Much of the value of the week is decided in the days after it. Share leads with your sales team the same evening, send personal follow-ups within a week while you are still remembered, and publish your strongest content while interest in the summit is high.
Then report back against the objective you set at the start: what you measured, what worked and what you would change next year. That report is the starting point for the next edition's plan.
Working with a partner in Doha
Exhibiting from abroad, or alongside a busy day job, means coordinating designers, fabricators, staff, crews and venues in a city where your team may have few contacts. ARZO has worked at Web Summit Qatar and runs events across Qatar. We can take on the whole project or only the parts you need: stand management, hosts and brand ambassadors, photo and video coverage, and side events from the venue to the run of show.
Learn more about our event management services, or share your dates and objectives through our request a proposal page, and we will come back with a realistic plan for your summit week.
ARZO is an independent event management company in Qatar and is not affiliated with Web Summit. The dates and figures in this guide come from information published by the organisers and the Government Communications Office as of October 2026. Official exhibitor deadlines come from Web Summit's partnership team.
