On behalf of the ICANN organization, I'd like to thank everyone who helped make the ICANN81 Annual General Meeting a success. I'm pleased to share that the attendance at ICANN81 was the highest of any ICANN Public Meeting since 2019: 1,982 people attended the meeting in Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye, in person, while 722 participated virtually.
Those who attended, whether online or in person, fostered a collaborative and collegial environment that resulted in a highly productive meeting. Key topics of discussion included the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program: Next Round, ICANN's next five-year Strategic Plan, and the World Summit on the Information Society+20 Review. Moreover, we had the opportunity to meet ICANN's incoming President and CEO, Kurt Erik "Kurtis" Lindqvist, at the Welcome Ceremony.
ICANN81 participants represented 141 countries and territories. Here's a regional breakdown of the in-person attendees:
- Africa – 150 (7.6 percent)
- Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands – 698 (35.2 percent)
- Europe – 578 (29.2 percent)
- Latin America and the Caribbean – 106 (5.3 percent)
- North America – 450 (22.7 percent)
More detailed statistics will be available in the ICANN81 By the Numbers Report that will be published in the coming weeks. If you missed anything during ICANN81, please visit the meeting website for session recordings and transcripts.
