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The World Economic Forum has raised the ticket price tenfold for some guests at its annual meeting in Davos, as it tries to capture a greater share of corporate activity outside the elite gathering.
The organization is also expanding the number of passes available and revamping the access they offer. The restructuring, scheduled for the January 2025 meeting, was discussed with sponsors at a meeting in Geneva this week, according to people who were there.
He FEM offers access passes, or badges, for second-level attendees in the circle of corporate leaders who make up the official Davos participants. Its price will increase from 100 Swiss francs ($115) in previous years to 1,000 Swiss francs from 2025.
The badges provide access to some parts of the WEF meeting, but not to the main conference center where global leaders and CEOs can rub shoulders between panels on the global economy, inequality and climate change. An elite badge costs 27,000 francs per person.
Lower-level badges will be available to a broader range of participants than in previous years, including much smaller sponsors, and are designed to appeal to mid-level executives with the promise of new opportunities to network with other attendees.
“It feels like a cash grab,” said an executive at a major WEF sponsor.
“As if a marketing person came in and told them that they are underestimating the brand. Davos. Frankly, I have no idea where they’re going to put all these people. “You can’t move anymore.”
The WEF meeting overwhelms the small Swiss ski resort each year for a week in January, when local businesses rent space to corporations that want to set up “storefronts” where they can market their services and host meetings with clients.
By 2025, the WEF is building a new building near the conference center in the city center to house its own administrators and participate in the real estate frenzy. It has told sponsors they can rent meeting space in the container-style modular building for about 150,000 francs a week.
The nonprofit WEF counts many of the world’s largest companies among its top tier of 120 “strategic partners,” from tech giants to banks and professional services firms. But it also has a growing number of smaller corporate sponsors, bringing the total number of partner companies to 900.
The WEF is also launching a program that will allow this broader circle of corporate sponsors to organize their own events under the official Davos umbrella, for a fee. Under the plan, companies would be able to livestream and market up to 10 panel sessions on the app to Davos participants if they pay 45,000 francs, although the fee structure is likely to change after comments in Geneva this week, according to the people. familiar with the topic. the discussion.
The WEF will have to verify that the sessions align with its mission of promoting human ingenuity, entrepreneurship and innovation. They will remain distinct from the official program involving global leaders and CEOs. The idea is to put the WEF’s seal of approval on some of the activities that have emerged outside the event in recent years and leave aside the opportunistic corporate marketing gimmicks that have also crowded Davos.
“The goal is to provide more opportunities to recognize partners’ thought leadership outside of the official program,” a WEF spokesperson said.
The expanded credential system “will offer access to exclusive locations within the security zone and full event digital services to navigate the Davos ecosystem, interact with each other and be listed on the World Economic Forum app alongside official participants.”
The spokesperson added: “The accredited programme, accredited badges and offices are provided to partners at a cost.”
The WEF says the 2025 annual meeting, which will take place from January 20 to 24, will address the challenges of “responding to geopolitical crises, stimulating growth to improve living standards and managing a fair and inclusive energy transition.”
The preparations are taking place in a context of scrutiny of the The WEF’s own culturefollowing allegations of employment discrimination and sexual harassment against founder Klaus Schwab, which the company denies. Its board of directors has hired an outside law firm to conduct a review of its workplace culture, which has not yet been completed.