Last year the Europas was hosted at Old Billingsgate, with event management by Ultimate Experience. First, the venue hosted The Europas Gathering Unconference during the day. This was followed by the Europas Awards, featuring ‘Conchita Wurst’ of Eurovision fame.
The unconference element of the event gave attendees a chance to create their own agenda for the day. At an unconference anyone who wants to initiate a discussion on a topic can claim a time and a space. It might be a term you’re not familiar with – unconferences are a relatively new take on the traditional conference, and typically feature open discussions rather than having a single speaker at the front of the room giving a talk, although any format is permitted.
For the last five years The Europas has grown into a fun and fantastic awards ceremony, followed by an after party and networking. The Europas is a chance for start-up teams to celebrate a year of hard of work in one incredible night in London. Start-ups can apply for an award or be nominated by someone else. A shortlist is selected by a panel of judges, followed by public peer voting and then a final ruling by the judges.
The attendee list is a who’s who of Europe’s most exciting and innovative start-ups, investors, media and more. Previous winners include Soundcloud, Mind Candy, King.com and Wonga, as well as some of Europe’s hottest start-ups.
This year the Europas takes place on 16th June at Old Billingsgate. It will consist of a daytime event, The Gathering, an evening awards ceremony and party, and a VIP dinner and after-party.
TechCrunch will be the exclusive media sponsor for The Europas. The partnership is a natural collaboration, given Mike Butcher’s Editor-at-Large role at TechCrunch. The event will also serve as a warm up for TechCrunch’s forthcoming Disrupt Europe.