What Is EthCC? Europe's Largest Ethereum Conference in Numbers
The Ethereum Community Conference is the largest and longest-running annual European Ethereum event, four intense days mixing deep technical tracks (protocol, ZK, security, DeFi) with adoption and institutional content, 300–400 speakers, the EthVC startup–investor track, hackathons and the busiest side-event ecosystem in European crypto. Because the organiser is a non-profit that keeps ticket prices deliberately low and publishes its budget transparently, the surrounding week of private dinners, brand houses and satellite activations has become the real battleground for visibility.
EthCC History: From Paris To Cannes (2018–2028)
Paris 2018–2023 · Brussels 2024 · Cannes 2025–2028 (contracted)
Born in Paris in 2018, EthCC outgrew the Maison de la Mutualité, moved to Brussels for a single edition, and is now under a three-year contract at Cannes' Palais des Festivals, the Film Festival venue, through EthCC[11] in 2028.
| Edition | Year | City · Venue | Attendance | Side Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EthCC[3] | 2020 | Paris, Maison de la Mutualité | ~1,000 | ~30 |
| EthCC[4] | 2021 | Paris, Maison de la Mutualité | n.d. | ~100 |
| EthCC[5] | 2022 | Paris, Maison de la Mutualité | ~1,200 | ~40 |
| EthCC[6] | 2023 | Paris, Mutualité + Collège des Bernardins | ~4,000 | ~300 |
| EthCC[7] | 2024 | Brussels, The Square (one-off) | ~6,000 | ~330 |
| EthCC[8] | 2025 | Cannes, Palais des Festivals | ~6,500 (~10,000 incl. week) | ~580 |
| EthCC[9] | 2026 | Cannes, Palais des Festivals · Mar 30 – Apr 2 | ~6,500 (~10,000 incl. week) | ~250 |
| EthCC[10] | 2027 | Cannes, contracted through 2028 | TBA | TBA |
Sources: edition dates, venues and attendance from Ethereum France (ethcc.io), Palais des Festivals de Cannes and host-venue announcements; side-event counts from CH3's portfolio tracker of publicly listed EthCC Week events. Compiled and verified July 2026.
EthCC Attendance & Side Events By Year
2020–2026 · CH3 portfolio dataset · organiser & venue figures
EthCC By The Numbers
How this data was compiled: attendance figures per edition come from official Ethereum France announcements, Palais des Festivals de Cannes press releases and host-venue reports (e.g. 2025: 6,500 accredited / 10,000 incl. week, as published by the Palais des Festivals). These figures are self-reported by the organiser and venue and are not independently audited. Side-event counts come from CH3's portfolio tracker, which logs publicly listed EthCC Week events (Luma and community calendars) plus CH3-produced events per edition. 2021 attendance was not disclosed by the organiser. Last verified: July 2026.
Two things stand out. Attendance grew roughly 6x between 2022 and 2025, but side events grew nearly 15x over the same period. The surrounding week now dwarfs the conference itself: in 2025 the ~6,500 accredited attendees were outnumbered by an estimated ~10,000 total participants once EthCC Week was counted. This mirrors the industry-wide pattern we documented in our Crypto Event Report 2025: side events, formats & data.
Read The Full Crypto Event Report 2025, Side Events, Formats & Data
CH3 Field Note · A Reality Check On The Numbers
- We've been on the ground at EthCC for the last six years and, in our view, it remains a great conference, Europe's strongest technical Ethereum gathering, even if it has lost significant weight since the move to Cannes.
- All attendance figures above are self-reported by the organiser and venue; there is no independent audit of EthCC attendance.
- Our on-the-ground read is that actual footfall runs significantly below the reported numbers, especially at the 2026 edition. To be transparent: this is a qualitative impression from our production teams on site over those six years, not a count.
- In our view, momentum has cooled since the move to Cannes, and 2026 was by far the quietest edition of the Cannes era: noticeably less buzz around the Palais, thinner walk-in traffic and a calmer side-event circuit than 2025.
- What this means for planners: anchor your RSVP and turnout assumptions to your own guest-list quality and format, not the headline attendance figures, and pressure-test venue capacity decisions against conservative footfall scenarios.
Who Attends EthCC?
builders · founders & VCs · institutions · ecosystem & media
The Audience, In Four Layers
- Builders first, protocol engineers, ZK/security researchers and dApp teams remain the core; 15 content tracks in 2026 keep this a technical conference at heart.
- Founders & VCs, the dedicated EthVC track formalises startup–investor matchmaking with pitches, workshops and curated networking.
- Institutions, increasingly, recent editions drew banks and TradFi players (Société Générale-FORGE sponsors the 2026 edition), matching the organisers' "professionalisation of Ethereum" framing.
- Ecosystem & media, foundations, L2 ecosystems, media partners (Cointelegraph, The Block, DL News, The Defiant) and thousands of week-only participants who never buy a main ticket.
Attendee Split: Main Conference vs Side Events
Source: Ethereum France publishes no official attendee breakdown, so these are indicative CH3 estimates based on the guest composition observed across our 90 CH3-produced EthCC side events, the conference's track structure (technical tracks + EthVC), and independent event reporting (e.g. 99Bitcoins on EthCC 2025: "most attendees were developers, founders, or researchers"; DL News and attendee coverage of the 2024 Brussels edition noting a growing BD, marketing and investor share). Ranges reflect variation between editions; the side-event column reflects typical curated business formats (dinners, receptions, executive roundtables) drawn from CH3 guest lists across our 90 EthCC-week productions, developer-focused formats such as workshops and hackathons skew far more technical. The hatched access layer is anchored in documented allocations rather than estimates: EthCC[9] officially reserved 400 free student tickets and 100 volunteer slots, roughly 8% of accredited attendance before counting hobbyist visitors on low-cost single-day passes (€125), an openness the non-profit organiser deliberately designs in, and a layer that curated private side events filter out via invite-only guest lists. Last reviewed: July 2026.
EthCC Sponsors & Sponsorship Cost
12 sponsors in 2018 → 72 in 2025 · 2026 total not disclosed · pricing on application
Sponsorship pricing is not publicly listed. Packages are tiered (historically Diamond, Ruby and similar) and quoted on application via ethcc.io. As a non-profit, Ethereum France states it keeps prices low and publishes its budget transparently. The organiser has not published a total sponsor count for the 2026 edition, the last disclosed figure is 72 sponsors (2025), but the 2026 roster shows a clear institutional shift: alongside crypto-native names like Wonderland, Aztec and Tangem, it added Société Générale-FORGE and Canton Network, plus The Agora, a new institutional onchain-finance forum run with Kaiko. Tickets stay deliberately affordable, with early-bird discounts (€100 off for 2026) plus student and volunteer routes. For a market-wide view of tier pricing and what actually converts, see our breakdown of what crypto conference sponsorships actually cost, and where the ROI is.
EthCC Sponsors By Edition (2018–2025)
How this data was compiled: sponsor counts per edition are published by the organiser on ethcc.io (About Us edition archive); the 2025 figure of 72 sponsors is additionally confirmed by the Palais des Festivals de Cannes official announcement. Sponsorship inventory for the 2024 Brussels edition sold out, per the organiser. No total has been disclosed for 2026. Last verified: July 2026.
Reading The Sponsor Curve · Three Takeaways
- The official roster understates real brand presence, significantly, in our view. The published count (72 in 2025) covers on-venue sponsorship packages only. Count the brands hosting and co-sponsoring the ~580 side events across EthCC Week and total brand participation runs into the several hundreds, our read is that "sold out" official inventory is as much positioning as constraint, and the real sponsorship market around EthCC is many times the official list.
- Official sponsor demand never dipped, not even in the bear market. The published count rose every single edition, including 37 → 42 through the 2022 downturn. B2B budgets for EthCC proved more cycle-resistant than token prices.
- The growth happened off-floor. Since 2022, official sponsor slots grew 1.7x and attendance 3x, but side events grew ~14x (40+ → 580 at peak). However you read the official cap, the numbers agree on one thing: the competition for brand attention at EthCC now happens in the side-event calendar, not on the venue floor.
What This Means For Brands
- Booth space and stage slots are limited and modestly priced, official sponsorship buys credibility, not differentiation.
- Differentiation happens off-site, in the side-event economy around the venue, where format, venue and guest curation are fully yours.
- Budget benchmark: in our July 2026 sponsorship ROI analysis, 340+ packages across six tier-1 crypto conferences vs 242 invoiced CH3 productions, independent side events came in at a median of ~$100 per guest and ~$48 per hour of brand attention, versus ~$272 per attention-hour for a title tier and roughly 90 seconds of attention for the average floor sponsor. Ask the CH3 Cannes team for current venue rate cards.
What Crypto Conference Sponsorships Actually Cost, And Where The ROI Is
EthCC Side Events
~580 at the 2025 peak · ~250 in 2026 · the real competition for attention
~250 satellite events surrounded this year's edition in Cannes (Mar 30 – Apr 2, 2026), after a record ~580 in 2025, multi-day ecosystem "houses", sunset boat and beach events, investor dinners, developer workshops, wellness and run clubs, and closing parties spread across the host city. It's no accident: as we argued in Where the Real Deals Are Actually Happening, the highest-value conversations of a conference week rarely happen on the expo floor.
EthCC Side Events By Edition (2019–2026)
How this data was compiled: 2019–2024 counts come from the organiser's official edition archive on ethcc.io (38 · 100 · 40+ · 300+ · 330); 2020 and 2026 from CH3's portfolio tracker of publicly listed EthCC Week events. For 2025, counting methods diverge: the organiser conservatively states "more than 250 events", while week-long listings aggregated across Luma and community calendars, the basis of CH3's tracker, reached ~580; we chart the aggregated figure and flag the discrepancy. Side-event counting is inherently fuzzy (private dinners and unlisted gatherings are invisible to every method), so treat all figures as directional. Last verified: July 2026.
Reading The Side-Event Curve · The Dynamics Underneath
- Side events are the honest demand signal. Attendance is self-reported by the organiser; the side-event count is hundreds of third parties independently spending budget. On that measure, brand demand grew ~15x from 2019 to the 2025 peak, much faster than official sponsor slots (3.3x over the same window).
- The step-change was 2023, not Cannes. The curve jumps 40 → 300+ in a single year (2022 → 2023, still in Paris), the moment the ecosystem collectively decided the week mattered more than the venue. Everything since has been fought off-floor.
- 2026 marks the first real contraction: ~580 → ~250. That halving is consistent with what our production teams felt on the ground, a significantly quieter Cannes edition. Fewer competing events cuts both ways for brands: less noise per evening slot, but a smaller total audience to draw from.
- The organiser has productised the week. ethcc.io now runs its own EthCC Week directory, curated venues, catering, production and media suppliers for side-event hosts. The periphery is no longer tolerated; it's part of the official product, which tells you where the organiser believes the value sits.
- At peak, the math turns brutal: ~580 events against ~6,500 accredited attendees is one side event per ~11 badges, far more events than anyone can attend. In that market, the constraint isn't hosting an event; it's distribution, timing and guest-list quality. That's the regime the playbook below is built for.
CH3 Side Events At EthCC
from our portfolio · 90 events produced across 7 EthCC editions
A selection of CH3-produced EthCC side events:
GOLDSKY
EthCC Kickoff with Goldsky & Friends · Paris
Goldsky opened EthCC week at Les Jardins du Pont Neuf, an elegant evening of networking, music and celebration for partners, investors and founders. Client verdict: "You and the team are clearly experts and it showed throughout the entire evening."
STAKEDAO
Burlesque Dinner · La Machine du Moulin Rouge
A themed private dinner at the Moulin Rouge's La Machine that became one of the most-talked-about nights of EthCC Paris 2022. CH3 produced venue, show programme, dining and guest management end to end.
FRONTIER
MEVday · Satellite Conference
Frontier's MEVday gathered 200+ developers, researchers and thought leaders for a full day on one of Web3's most complex topics, becoming one of EthCC's most influential side conferences and a hub for cross-ecosystem collaboration.
FLOWDESK × MORPHO
The Gathering · Premium Networking
A premium networking experience at BELVue connecting leaders in digital finance, liquidity management and decentralised infrastructure, one of EthCC Brussels' standout side events.
BEWATER × CYSIC × OKX VENTURES
Proof of Cocktail · Multi-Brand Party
A large-scale networking celebration at Claridge gathering 300+ founders, investors and ecosystem leaders, one of the week's most talked-about social events and a showcase of complex multi-brand production at scale.
CERTORA
Breakfast Networking · Counter-Programmed Slot
Certora owned the morning: a relaxed, productive breakfast for 100 guests on smart-contract verification and formal methods, proof that an underserved schedule slot beats competing with the evening party circuit.
Get your proposal around an anchor conference
EthCC Side Event Costs Per Activation Type
CH3 contracting database · median totals in EUR, excl. VAT
Benchmarks below are weighted medians drawn from CH3's internal contracting database. Actual budgets shift with venue, date and production level, during anchor-conference weeks expect the upper end of each range.
| Activation Type | Guest Range | Median Total | Per Guest | Typical Line Items | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Dinner & Private Dining | 25–75 pax 75–200 pax | ~€14,400 ~€23,500 | ~€299 ~€203 | Venue · catering · wine/drinks · staff · entertainment | 251 |
| Networking Event / Happy Hour | 25–75 pax 75–200 pax 200–400 pax | ~€10,000 ~€27,800 ~€37,000 | ~€196 ~€228 ~€176 | Venue · catering · open bar · AV · staff · entertainment | 709 |
| Cocktail Reception | 25–75 pax 75–200 pax 200–400 pax | ~€13,600 ~€26,800 ~€76,800 | ~€340 ~€234 ~€384 | Venue · canapés · drinks packages · AV · décor · entertainment | 201 |
| Party / Closing Night | 75–200 pax 400–600 pax | ~€21,400 ~€49,300 | ~€178 ~€98 | Venue · catering · bar · DJ/entertainment · security · photo | 56 |
| Workshop / Hackathon | <25 pax 25–75 pax 75–200 pax | ~€6,500 ~€7,300 ~€15,300 | ~€317 ~€175 ~€120 | Venue · AV · catering · coffee breaks · staff | 160 |
| Satellite Conference & Summit | 25–75 pax 200–400 pax 400–600 pax | ~€12,400 ~€42,000 ~€68,800 | ~€261 ~€178 ~€191 | Venue · full AV/stage · catering · signage & branding · staff · photo | 528 |
| Co-Working / Meeting Space | <25 pax 25–75 pax | ~€2,900 ~€11,600 | ~€192 ~€249 | Venue · permanent coffee station · light catering · AV | 280 |
| Brand & Product Launch | 25–75 pax 75–200 pax | ~€5,000 ~€7,800 | ~€99 ~€78 | Venue · AV · catering · staff (production & branding priced separately) | 20 |
How this data was compiled: medians are calculated from contracted line items (venue, catering, AV, staff, etc.) from CH3's internal contracting database, covering events delivered 2020–2026, extracted July 2026. Sample size is the number of line items underlying each row's medians. Rows with small samples (<50) are indicative only.
Typical EthCC-Week Activation Budgets
Host-city medians · Cannes 2025–2028 · Paris 2018–2023 · Brussels 2024
| EthCC Activation Format | Cannes | Paris | Brussels | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive dinner (30–60 pax) | ~€8,100 | ~€9,200 | ~€2,000 | 56 |
| Cocktail reception (50–150 pax) | ~€19,200 | ~€8,100–23,900 | - | 90 |
| Networking evening (100–200 pax) | ~€26,300 | ~€8,500 | ~€7,400 | 112 |
| Side-event party (100–200 pax) | ~€19,000 | ~€15,200 | - | 10 |
| Workshop / hacker session (25–50 pax) | ~€9,500 | ~€6,900 | ~€1,800 | 34 |
| Satellite conference (200–300 pax) | ~€11,000 (venue only) | ~€29,200 | ~€16,300 | 53 |
| Headline reception (200–500 pax) | Enquire | ~€57,100–87,100 | - | 37 |
| Production add-on package (branding, AV, signage, transport) | ~€32,400 | Enquire | Enquire | 10 |
How this data was compiled: city medians are calculated from contracted line items from CH3's internal contracting database for events delivered in Cannes, Paris and Brussels (2020–2026), extracted July 2026. Sample size is the number of line items behind each row's medians across the three host cities. Rows with small samples (<20) are indicative, request a live quote for current rates.
Reading The Cannes Numbers
- Cannes runs 1.5–3x Paris for like-for-like mid-size formats, Riviera venue scarcity plus conference-week demand. Budget accordingly for EthCC[9] and [10].
- Brussels was the value edition, EthCC[7] dinners and workshops came in at a fraction of Cannes rates.
- Per-guest cost falls with scale: a 400-guest party runs ~€98/guest vs ~€234/guest for a 100-guest reception, big formats buy reach efficiently, small formats buy depth.
How To Activate Around EthCC
the CH3 playbook · format · timing · distribution
- Pick your format by objective.
- Pipeline / BD → executive dinner or yacht reception (15–60 pax)
- Developer adoption → workshop, hackathon corner or hacker house (30–150 pax)
- Brand awareness → multi-day "house", beach-club takeover or headline party (200–600 pax)
- Community → run club, breakfast series or co-working space (recurring, low cost)
- Book venues 4–6 months out. Cannes inventory, Croisette beach clubs, villas, the Palais perimeter, is far scarcer than Paris was, and the spring dates overlap early-season availability.
- Counter-program the schedule. With 250–580 competing events, own an underserved slot: breakfasts, day-2 lunches, or the arrival Sunday.
- Layer distribution. Luma listing + partner co-hosts + door NFT/POAP typically outperform paid promotion with this audience, and the right voices amplify everything, so start with our guide to choosing KOLs for your crypto event.
- Measure it properly. Define success before the invite goes out, pipeline touched, developers onboarded, or share of voice, using the framework in Measuring What Events Actually Do.
- Ride the multi-year Cannes contract. EthCC is locked in Cannes through 2028, venue relationships and recurring formats compound year over year.
CH3 Track Record At EthCC
- 90 events produced across 7 EthCC editions, more than any other anchor conference in our portfolio.
- Local teams in both host cities: CH3 Paris (288 events, 68K+ guests hosted) and CH3 Cannes (27 events on the Riviera).
- Same-team delivery, the production manager who takes your brief runs your live day on-site.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people attend EthCC?
EthCC 2026 in Cannes drew around 6,500 accredited attendees and an estimated 10,000 total participants including EthCC Week side events, per organiser-reported figures, up from roughly 1,200 attendees in 2022. The 2025 edition peaked at ~580 side events. These figures are self-reported by the organiser and not independently audited; CH3's on-site teams observed noticeably lower footfall than reported, particularly in 2026.
Where is EthCC held and when is the next edition?
After seven Paris editions and a one-off in Brussels (2024), EthCC is contracted to the Palais des Festivals in Cannes through 2028. EthCC[10] runs in Cannes in April 2027.
How much does it cost to sponsor EthCC?
Sponsorship pricing is not publicly listed, packages are tiered (historically Diamond, Ruby and similar) and quoted on application via ethcc.io. As a non-profit, Ethereum France keeps prices low and publishes its budget transparently. 72 sponsors backed the 2025 edition; no total has been disclosed for 2026.
Why should a brand activate around EthCC?
EthCC concentrates Europe's Ethereum ecosystem, roughly 10,000 developers, founders, investors and institutions, into one city for a single week, and most of the meaningful engagement now happens in the ~250–580 side events rather than inside the venue. Because official booth space and stage slots are limited, an owned side event is often the most effective way to reach this audience. Just as important: it lets you curate the room. The main conference badge mix skews broad by design, deliberately affordable tickets plus student and volunteer routes bring in many enthusiasts alongside decision-makers, while a private guest list concentrates the founders, investors and senior operators you actually want, for a noticeably more professional setting. It also typically costs less than a top-tier sponsorship, and with EthCC contracted to Cannes through 2028, venue relationships and recurring formats compound year over year.
What is the best way for a brand to activate around EthCC?
The highest-ROI route is an owned side event, because you control the two things that matter: who is in the room and what happens in it. Our analysis of 340+ sponsorship packages found independent side events deliver around two hours of undivided attention per guest at ~$48 per attention-hour, versus roughly 90 seconds for the average floor sponsor, with a guest list and agenda you curate rather than inherit. Match the format to your objective: executive dinners and yacht receptions for pipeline, workshops and hacker houses for developers, multi-day brand houses or beach-club takeovers for awareness. Cannes venue inventory is scarce, so book 4–6 months out.
CH3 Production Hubs Permanent Teams In EthCC's Host Cities
Cannes Event Production Hub
French Riviera · 27+ events
Paris Event Production Hub
N + C Europe · 288+ events
Activating At EthCC[9] Or [10]?
CH3 produces events for some of the world's leading corporate, tech, crypto and gaming clients, including 90 events across 7 EthCC editions. Our local Cannes and Paris teams negotiate directly with venues and suppliers on your behalf, and the same production manager who takes your brief will be on-site to manage live day logistics. Send your brief, get a shortlist in 48 hours.
Get an Event Proposal