When I decided to continue with Lambda after last year’s financial setback, exactly as I wrote in this post, I was betting on one thing: the 2024 feedback was one of the best I’ve ever received in 10 years of running events, and everyone said we’d double the following year. I truly thought that momentum would lift the event and the community again. I ended last October feeling hopeful, but sometimes things don’t go as expected..
Last May, I organised the 9th edition of J On The Beach, a distributed-systems event that has been my economic relief since I focused 100% on conferences two years ago. However, this last edition hit me like a truck (as I explained here). It was so negative that I ended up physically unwell and mentally wrecked. By late May and June, I spoke with Raúl Raja and suggested he might carry Lambda forward, because I was ready to step off the ship. In the end, we agreed I’d see this edition through and then we’d reassess. So I kept going, slowly, with the hope of doubling the size of Lambda World.
As the event approached, fear crept in: ticket sales were low. I thought we’d double attendance, and I had already ordered custom caps for 400 people; instead, we ended up roughly the same as last year. DISASTER!
It’s disheartening: a conference that once had 800 people didn’t grow after being revived with incredible feedback. At some point, you accept the obvious: the tech-events market is in crisis. Many companies have cut training budgets, and yeah, AI isn’t taking your job, but your company might start by cutting mine. That’s exactly what I already experienced with J On The Beach.
Desperately, I started contacting past attendees one by one to ask why they weren’t coming. Some said it was too expensive; others were on holiday in Tanzania; others found Cádiz too far and hard to reach, especially after Ryanair withdrew operations from Xerez. In short: a mix of everything.
And yet, we shipped a strong speaker lineup, different from 2024. Last year leaned more into array languages and theory; this time, we focused on applied AI, Formal Verification, and Type Systems. The feedback was generally positive, and I personally had a good time introducing Brutal Truth to the audience :).
We also made mistakes. A big one: the large workshop room had no sound system; we should have provided it. And some problems were outside our full control: catering. While the food tasted fine, the berza on day one gave diarrhoea to many (me included). It’s almost actionable. The caterer says they ate it too and felt fine; thankfully, as far as I know, there were no serious consequences, just a miserable afternoon for several people. We’re genuinely sorry.
Financially, the numbers are brutal. Revenue was €46,905 and expenses €51,032, leaving a –€4,127 deficit. That’s before recognising the real value of the team’s time: two people working six months would barely be covered even if they had earned only €1,000 net per month each, and we still wouldn’t have covered that work. It hurts.
Financial transparency
- Income: Tickets €26,155, Sponsors €20,750 → €46,905
- Expenses: Venue & Wi-Fi €8,761, Food & catering €10,000, Speakers (travel & accom.) €8,315, Decorations & welcome bags €4,451, Video & photo €3,509, Other €3,996, Labour (minimum) €12,000 → €51,032
- Result: –€4,127
Thank you for making it possible
First, to our sponsors: your support quite literally kept the lights on this year. Thank you for believing in Lambda when the market doesn’t make it easy.
Then, to the individuals whose generosity moved mountains:
- Lennart and Anurag, who paid for their own trip.
- Wendy, who covered part of her flight.
- Zainab, who contributed to Wendy’s flight.
- And everyone who brought their companies on board to cover specific costs. You turned a potential disaster into something we could still be proud of.
Even with the lower turnout, the functional programming community showed up with heart. That’s why Lambda is still worth it.
Looking ahead: we believe Lambda World will be back next year, but sadly, we doubt it will return to Cádiz. As much as we love the city, we must be honest about how difficult it is to reach, and that matters for attendees and sponsors alike.
Watch & support
If you want to watch the talks and support the conference, you can do so by subscribing to our YouTube or Vimeo channel. Subscribing, liking, sharing, or simply watching really helps.
See you next year!
Luis Sánchez de Ybargüen
Event Director at Yay-Yay Events