Gathering 2,000+ young leaders from 194+ countries is a stunning logistical feat – here’s how we do it.
Gathering 2,000+ people from 194+ countries is no simple feat! But each year, since 2010, we’ve been doing just that, to bring you the landmark leadership event of the year: The One Young World Summit.
With years of experience under our belt, we certainly know how to deliver. But that doesn’t mean each year doesn’t have its unique set of opportunities, challenges and learning curves.
If you’ve ever wondered how we do it, take a behind-the-scenes look into our event planning, and some crucial insights and lessons we’ve learnt along the way.
Finding the right location:
Behind the scenes, there are so many things that go into finding the right place to host a world-class Summit. It is essential for us to consider questions like this:
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Can we ensure delegates from certain countries won’t face difficult visa restrictions prohibiting them from attending our event?
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Are there any local laws or restrictions that might put some of our delegates at risk?
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Does the city have a venue that can hold 2,000+ people, with enough stages and networking space?
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Does the venue meet all accessibility needs, as well as being easy to get to from an international airport, or transport facilities with global connections?
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Can we ensure that Summit tickets take into account all of our supplier costs – and still put on the event of a lifetime?!
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Is there high-speed internet?
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Are there enough hotels in the city to accommodate all our guests?
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Accelerated visa process for all delegates from all nationalities. Delegates from countries that are normally excluded must be granted visas for the Summit.
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Freedom of expression for all participants, including the media, for the Summit duration.
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The Summit venue must have a minimum capacity of 2,000-3,000 people, high-speed internet, separate areas for the conference (One presentation stage - 2,000 capacity and three Interactive stages: 200-300 capacity each), exhibition and catering as well as smaller rooms for breakout sessions, media centre and offices.
And the list goes on!
Partnering with a Host City greatly enhances the delegate experience, and ensures local cultural representation. Having a Host City partner enables the One Young World legacy to live on post-Summit and leaves a lasting positive impact on the attendees and the local community.
Over the years we have been welcomed to host cities by influential local leaders, who play a huge role in championing the Summit in their city. Recent examples include Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Councillor Ryan Murphy, Lord Mayor of Belfast.
Our Host City bid process:
In the past, host cities have entered a bid process – a little like the Olympics – in order to host our event. Examples of the Host City commitments have included:
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be committed to enabling 175 national or regional delegates to participate in the Summit, with a minimum of 30 places awarded through a publicly accessible scholarship application,
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send a delegation of at least 40 people to the preceding Summit,
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commit to ensuring the Mayor/ local politician's presence at the preceding Summit and to welcome delegates at the opening of the Summit in their host city,
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sponsor delegate dinners and subsidise delegate transport
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sponsor our opening and closing ceremonies at an incredible venue
The Covid challenge:
One Young World was of course affected by the global pandemic.
Even though we are proud to have been one of the first in the world to pull off such a huge socially distanced, hybrid event in keeping with all safety protocols, in Munich, 2021, we did not get through the pandemic unscathed.
Our 2022 Summit was originally scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan. We had venues, suppliers, and many other arrangements optimistically confirmed – if anyone was going to be able to make this work it was us! But as events unfolded, it turned out the logistics of travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines made taking an in-person Summit to Tokyo untenable. So we had to pivot.
The impact of changing Summit destination halfway through planning was huge – financially and logistically. We’re exceptionally proud of how we were able to work with the City of Manchester to deliver another exceptional Summit experience.
Munich 2025
With the 2023 Summit in Belfast successfully delivered, on the historic 25 anniversary year of the Good Friday Agreement, and as we get excitingly close to Montréal/Tio'tia:ke 2024 with its special focus on Indigenous youth, we’re excited to be planning further into the future.
It is with great pleasure that we are able to work with the city of Munich again to give them a chance to put on the Summit in the way they would have liked to in 2021. This time around, without social distancing, and with delegates able to truly experience the sights and culture of the city.
What we’ve learned about successful event planning
Here are our top tips from our Summit team:
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No two events will ever be the same - so don’t stress about making things feel the same as the year before
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Build on what you know works well, but never be afraid to innovate - it keeps things interesting for you and your audience
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Working extensively with local agency partners means adapting your communication styles and learning about the cultures of places and teams you are working with
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Be agile and flexible in your approach - this will keep you resilient if you experience any unforeseen setbacks
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Keep safeguarding at the top of your agenda. As a global event with highly sensitive content, the Summit is open to greater risk factors and as such we hold safeguarding, security and health and safety as a primary concern in all areas of planning.
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Gather feedback! Each year we capture, forensically analyse and then act on feedback from all stakeholders to ensure our focus is on continuous and progressive improvement across the whole Summit.
Plans for future Summits
We are proud to have survived the pandemic – and we don’t have any plans to go anywhere. The pandemic has taught us not to get too ahead of ourselves, and we are very aware that pandemics, and other existential threats, are real and could manifest at any time. But we refuse to lose the spirit and drive that has brought to life the phenomenon that is the One Young World Summit.
We have ambitions to visit every region of the world! We believe it is important to ensure that our Summit locations are as diverse as the Community we are here to serve and support. We recognize the value of taking bright, talented, young people and VIPs and celebs to places they might normally never have the chance to visit, opening up the world, enabling cultural exchange, bringing the world’s press, and a surge of tourism along with it.
Of course, the incredibly detailed logistical requirements we have (as noted above) will always narrow down which cities we are able to partner with, but we are open again to bids!
Would you like to host a One Young World Summit in your city in 2026?
While most conferences are limited to a convention centre, the One Young World Summit takes place in locations across the Host City, allowing the host to showcase their heritage, business community, and culture.
Here are some of the many benefits host cities can expect:
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Global coverage establishing the city as a leading place for business and major events: The Summit is covered by the global media, including CNN, Al Jazeera and BBC Worldwide, featuring young leaders, royalty, celebrities, politicians and global business leaders.
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Enhanced reputation as a forward-thinking, sustainable, global hub committed to supporting young people and meaningfully changing the world for the better.
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Engage the local community and benefit from new international networks and relationships forged during the Summit, as well as fostering deeper relationships between local businesses, global corporations, and high profile Counsellors attending the Summit.
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An economic boost with over 2,000 people spending four to five nights in the city, generating significant revenue for local hotels, restaurants, shops, and venues.