rki.news

Doha – Saturday, January 31, 2025
– Surge in ticket sales followed announcement that Issam Hijazi will speak at
the region’s premier technology conference, Web Summit Qatar, on Sunday
– Hijazi’s app Upscrolled is a global sensation after it became the No 1 free
app on Apple’s US app store and the US Play Store, with users rocketing
from 150,000 to 1m+
– Palestinian/Jordanian/Australian Hijazi – who says Upscrolled combats the
censorship, shadow-banning, and clickbait of Big Tech – will give his first
major public talk at Opening Night of the 30,000-person Doha event
The third edition of Web Summit Qatar has officially sold out following the announcement of
Issam Hijazi, the Palestinian founder of Upscrolled, as an Opening Night speaker, Web Summit
has announced.
The 30,000-plus attendee event hit full capacity yesterday following a dramatic surge in ticket
sales after Web Summit revealed that Hijazi would address the event in Doha on Sunday
evening.
On Sunday night Hijazi, a technologist with decades of experience at companies like IBM,
Oracle, and Hitachi, will undertake his first public engagement since the app’s soaring success.
(That success has in turn led to claims that Upscrolled itself is being shadow-banned by major
platforms).
Global interest in Palestinian/Jordanian/Australian Hijazi has soared since his social networking
platform became the most popular app in America – and around the world. Upscrolled, which
pledges to combat the censorship, shadow-banning, clickbait, and algorithmic tricks of Big
Tech social platforms, became the Number 1 free app on both the Apple App Store and the
Google Play Store last week.
Upscrolled also revealed that its user numbers had soared from 150,000 a week ago to more
than 1million by the end of the week. The surge in Upscrolled download and usage followed

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outages at TikTok and criticism of Big Tech’s content moderation policies, especially among
American users who claimed their ability to discuss the Minnesota ICE shootings was being
curtailed by certain platforms.
In all, more than 30,000 attendees will be at the event, including founders, investors,
policymakers, media, and technologists from more than 120 countries. The number of
attendees has soared from 15,000 at Web Summit Qatar’s first edition in 2024 in Doha.
In its third year, Web Summit Qatar will also draw a record number of 1,600 startups and 900
investors to Doha – including Managing and General Partners at Amino Capital, Greycroft, B
Capital, and Initialized Capital. The event floor sold out at the start of the year, with leading
global companies including IBM, Microsoft, Huawei, Qatar Airways, and many more confirmed
to partner.
Speakers include three-time Forbes Midas Lister Larry Li, Founder & Managing Partner at
Amino Capital; Mati Staniszewski, Co-Founder at Elevenlabs; Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint
Nasser, Chairperson at Qatar Foundation; Eduardo Saverin, Co-founder of B Capital and
Facebook; Colin Kaepernick, Founder & CEO at Lumi; Yanis Varoufakis, Economist & Former
Greek Finance Minister; Logan Paul, YouTuber and Wrestler; and creator Abir El Saghir.
Media advisory:
For media attending Web Summit Qatar, interview requests can be made by email to
media@websummit.com, with ‘Issam Hijazi interview request’ as the subject line”
About Web Summit:
Web Summit is the world’s premier technology event series, bringing together a global
community of founders, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors to connect and
exchange ideas about the technology and trends shaping the world. Web Summit events –
including Web Summit in Lisbon, Web Summit Rio in South America, Web Summit Vancouver in
North America, Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East, and RISE in Asia – have gathered nearly
one million people since Web Summit’s beginnings as a 150-person conference in Dublin in
2009. Its newest event, Web Summit Vancouver, launched in May 2025.

Useful links:
● Web Summit website: https://websummit.com
● Web Summit Qatar website: www.qatar.websummit.com
● About Web Summit: www.about.websummit.com
● Web Summit Qatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/websummit
● Web Summit Qatar TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@websummit
● Web Summit Qatar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WebSummit
● Web Summit Qatar Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/web-summit

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● Web Summit Qatar YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@websummit
● Web Summit Qatar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/websummit/