Behind the booths: A conversation with Lucas Radke of WordCamp Europe 2025

For many, WordCamp Europe is a place to learn, network, and celebrate all things WordPress. But behind the keynote talks, the bustling sponsor hall, and the smooth-running schedule lies a massive, invisible engine powered almost entirely by volunteers. Among them is Lucas Radke, a key figure in organizing the sponsor experience for this year’s conference.

As I walked through the venue, I saw the polished booths, smiling reps, and a sea of branded swag. It all looked effortless – but appearances can be deceiving. So I sat down with Lucas, who is part of the seven-person team responsible for making the sponsorship program not only functional but also valuable and enjoyable for everyone involved.

“Our job is to make our sponsors happy and, therefore, make this all affordable.” Lucas told me, underscoring the financial backbone that makes such a large-scale community event possible.

Sponsorships don’t just fund a few flyers or coffee stands – they underpin the entire operation. From venue rental to streaming infrastructure, they ensure the event remains accessible, often free or low-cost for attendees. So the stakes are high, and the responsibility real.

A new venue, a new challenge

WordCamp Europe is unique in many ways, but one standout aspect is its nomadic spirit. Unlike many tech conferences that anchor themselves in the same location year after year, WordCamp Europe deliberately chooses a new host city annually. This not only brings fresh local flavor to each edition but also injects a layer of logistical complexity that few events of this scale willingly embrace.

For the organizers, this means starting from scratch each time – new venues, new vendors, different cultures, and unfamiliar infrastructure. Planning begins with abstract floor plans and vendor lists, often months in advance, without the luxury of visiting the space until late in the process.

“So, as we are moving from location to location each year, it’s always, like, a challenge to like, you get the floor plan of how it should look like, but you can’t imagine how it is until you’re really there.” Radke explained. “ Like, the size of the whole thing, like, how the the stream of people will move through the sponsor area and stuff. So that’s always, like, unpredictable. ”

It’s not just about square footage and cable runs. The flow of foot traffic, visibility of booths, natural gathering points, and even lighting can drastically affect sponsor engagement. One small misjudgment could turn a potential high-exposure spot into a dead zone.

“But, of course, we want to provide something to the sponsors about, hey, this is a good spot or that’s not so optimal spot because we don’t have bad spots, at least. We hope so. Yes.” Lucas said. “But, yeah, it’s challenging, to get out there and convince people and companies to give back, to, be represented here as a sponsor. Like, we do have different kinds of sponsorships. We do have the ones which included a booth. We have ones where it’s just about giving back and your logo is displayed on the website and stuff. And, yeah, coordinating all this with a small team, making sure that we get everything in time, but also that we get out the information for our sponsors in time, talking with the other teams, organizing, like, a local team for everything around the venue, with production team about how the booths will be set up, what kind of informations we can provide to the sponsors, but also, communications team, content team, all about how can we get the logos of the sponsors on the web site, how are the page structured, how can we make sure sponsors are represented enough.”

Despite these hurdles, the sponsor hall this year was a resounding success. The space felt natural and lively, with attendees visibly engaging in demos, collecting swag, and exchanging ideas with vendors.

“I’ve talked with many, and they’re super happy with how everything was set up, how many people really showed interest into their products and services. ” Radke noted. “So, from that point of view, I think we did a great job as a sponsors team.”

And that’s no small feat.

The reality of volunteer work

What makes WordCamp Europe even more remarkable is that it’s almost entirely volunteer-run. From the website to the signage, logistics to livestreaming – very few, if any, organizers are paid for their efforts.

“So many people are just Every everyone is doing that on their fee time. Like, no one gets paid to organize WordCamp Europe, at least not from WordCamps.” Lucas emphasized.

This year’s sponsor team was just seven people. The broader organizing team numbered around 80. But even that number can be misleading.

“If everyone is not doing their forty hours per week, but maybe just one or two hours, that’s, like, a lot of things that needs to happen in a very short amount of time. That’s right.” Radke explained.

This kind of time-constrained coordination requires more than project management – it demands trust, flexibility, and an unshakable sense of shared purpose. And when you consider that this relatively small group managed an event attended by over 2,000 people, the achievement becomes even more astonishing.

It’s a testament to what a passionate, self-motivated community can accomplish. And it speaks to the spirit of open source – not just in code, but in collaboration.

From the expo floor: success in motion

By the time we sat down for the interview, day two of WordCamp Europe was already underway. The sponsor booths were buzzing with life, and the positive energy was hard to ignore. I asked Lucas how he assessed the event so far, from his vantage point.

“So, besides some smaller issues we face with, the location with Swiss plugs and everything, I think we’ve done pretty good job with the sponsor hall, like, also how we manage that people will move through the sponsor hall, show interest in these sponsors. ” he said. “I’ve talked with many, and they’re super happy with how everything was set up, how many people really showed interest into their products and services. So, from that point of view, I think we did a great job as a sponsors team.”

It’s easy to underestimate what makes a sponsor area effective. It’s not just about booths and branding – it’s about creating opportunities for connection. When done right, sponsors become more than advertisers; they become active participants in the community dialogue.

And from my own experience as a sponsor, I could affirm Lucas’s observation. Conversations were rich, genuine, and in many cases, transformative – far surpassing the standard “scan my badge” dynamic of typical expos.

“The effect is exceeding expectations to some extent” I told him, and Lucas nodded, visibly pleased.

The future of WordCamp sponsorships

As our conversation turned toward the future, Lucas shared what’s next for the sponsor team and the event as a whole.

“So so, first off, we need a new sponsor team. Like, it’s based on volunteers. You need to apply. You get selected each year.” he explained. “And that’s also always the good thing that you have, like, new people and seasoned people in that team to, like, exchange ideas and develop new ideas because we have a lot of people who join the sponsor team after they were sponsors themselves.”

That rotational system ensures the sponsor team doesn’t go stale. New voices bring innovation; returning members provide structure and continuity. It’s a self-refreshing model built for sustainable growth.

In terms of evolution, the team is already thinking ahead – not just about logistics, but about how to deepen the sponsor experience.

“That is not just basic. You have one booth and stuff, but we try to get more and more things in there, like additional sponsorships or more branding opportunities in the future and, to to just also make sure that you get something for your money at the end, but, that it’s still a sponsorship at the end.” Lucas added.

The goal is to make sure sponsors feel represented, visible, and valued. But more importantly, it’s about ensuring that sponsorships never lose their community-driven essence.

Powered by people, fueled by purpose

As I wrapped up the interview and took one last walk through the sponsor hall, it struck me how seamless everything felt from the outside – how the booths, the signage, the flow of people all came together into something that looked effortless.

But thanks to Lucas Radke and his team, I now knew better.

WordCamp Europe is not just a conference – it’s a community powered by passion, built on trust, and held together by sheer force of goodwill. Every smiling sponsor, every engaged attendee, and every carefully placed banner has a story behind it – a late-night Slack message, a last-minute fix, a volunteer who gave up their weekend to make it happen.

So here’s to the volunteers. And to WordCamp Europe. May the fire continue to spread – one city, one sponsor booth, one conversation at a time.