Web Summit to ring Nasdaq opening bell

Trading on America’s Nasdaq stock exchange will be opened from Ireland for the first time next October.

The Nasdaq opening bell will be rung onstage at the RDS during the Web Summit on October 30th, making it the first time the Nasdaq stock market has been opened from Ireland.

Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave said he was delighted to see the Nasdaq, which is the world's leading market for technology stocks, recognising the Web Summit as the platform for tech companies in Europe.

“This is an extraordinary coup for us as the opening of the Market is watched by millions and rarely takes place outside of New York.”

He said bell ceremonies are typically hosted at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, and remote opening and closing bell ceremonies are extremely rare.

The Nasdaq opening bell which signifies the start of the day’s trading session will take place in front of a live audience of over 7,000.

"For more than 40 years Nasdaq has been dedicated to supporting innovation in all forms and throughout all stages of a company's development. Through this commitment, we have a built a longstanding relationship with Web Summit, which is a key platform for reaching the technology community in Europe and beyond," Nasdaq executive vice president Bruce Aust said.

The Web Summit has grown from humble beginnings in a lecture theatre in Trinity College, to a festival of multiple stages and events attracting thousands of people from across the world.

October's event will feature more than 300 speakers including Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, Wordpress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, Hailo co-founder Jay Bregman and Digg founder turned Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose.

Scott Belsky who sold Behance to Adobe in 2012 for a reputed $150 million and blogger/Google Glass evangelist Robert Scoble will also feature at the Web Summit.

The first 1,000 tickets for this year’s event were snapped up in a matter of hours.