Calm Before the Storm #WebSummit2026
Genuine people, questionable ideas, and maximum realness.
_If you accidentally learn something, make a friend, or start a revolution, that’s on you._
_DISCLAIMER: This event is, in absolutely no uncertain terms, NOT official WEBSUMMIT anything unless by “official” you mean “officially a bunch of actual cybernetic humans making the most out of whatever weirdness lands in our city._
Hundred million dollars that’s what they promised
Big circus rolling in to save the colonies
Swooped in took our venues took our spotlight
Filled our heads with dreams then caught a red-eye flight
Sent our money overseas called it opportunity
Bled our budgets dry in the name of community
Promises on stages cameras in their faces
Left us holding nothing but receipts and empty spaces
Don’t need your permission to build what we’re building
Don’t need your circus your pitch deck your billing
We were here before you we’ll be here when you’re gone
Don’t need saving we’ve been strong all along
Metrics aren’t meaning visibility ain’t truth
Priced out the locals sold dreams to the youth
Gatekeepers in lanyards deciding who gets in
Meanwhile we’re in basements where the real work begins
You wanted us to lay down play the grateful host
Kiss the ring say thank you raise a champagne toast
But we’ve been building something you could never buy
Roots go deep motherfucker and we don’t need your sky
Oh-de-lay-ee-oh got my eye on you
Oh-de-lay-ee-oh watching what you do
Oh-de-lay-ee-oh promises come due
Don’t need your permission to build what we’re building
Don’t need your circus your pitch deck your billing
We were here before you we’ll be here when you’re gone
Don’t need saving we’ve been strong all along
Oh-de-lay-ee-oh the signal’s in the margins
Oh-de-lay-ee-oh not your scripted swarms
Oh-de-lay-ee-oh we build in liminal spaces
Oh-de-lay-ee-oh we weather our own storms
Conference class flies home to tell the story
How they saved the locals bathed us in their glory
But the dirt under our nails the calluses on our hands
That’s the real economy they’ll never understand
Don’t need your permission to build what we’re building
Don’t need your circus your pitch deck your billing
We were here before you we’ll be here when you leave
Building something real that you could not conceive
We were here before We’ll be here after
Your receipts and empty spaces
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_BC + AI Ecosystem Association:_ We support British Columbia’s transition into ethical, inclusive AI by helping public institutions, businesses, and community leaders build the knowledge, skills, and partnerships they need to navigate emerging technologies.