WordCamp Europe 2025 is in full swing, with day one of the flagship event’s schedule kicking off today in Basel, Switzerland.
More than 640 people took part in Contributor Day yesterday at the Messe Basel and Congress Center, contributing to 27 teams, including the new WordPress AI Team. Even the Sustainability Team, which was shut down in January, had a presence — according to WCEU 2025 organizers, contributors are gathering signatures to petition WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard to bring back the team.
Day one: global themes and practical builds
Day one kicks off with a keynote from Human Made CGO Noel Tock, WordPress without Borders — The Fight for Digital Freedom, setting the stage for a packed schedule of talks that span the political to the practical. Sessions will explore everything from sustainable site design and social entrepreneurship to block development and how a multinational bank uses WordPress.
There’ll be plenty for developers, with sessions on Composer best practices, the Interactivity API, WordPress Playground blueprints, and AI automation. There’s also room for reflection, with talks on agency failures, product support, and leadership habits that help teams thrive. Community themes run strong, from building multilingual audiences to what it’s like contributing as both a teenager and a veteran.
The day also brings some hands-on fun with live website reviews and a Speed Build Challenge hosted by Jamie Marsland, Head of WordPress.org YouTube.
Day two: growth, governance, and the future of WordPress
Day two will open with sessions on the future of WordPress, WordPress Playround, and multilingual development, setting the tone for a day focused on growth, inclusion, and the tools shaping what comes next. Accessibility also features strongly, with talks on inclusive design, epilepsy, and the looming European Accessibility Act.
After lunch, the program turns toward the future of the web with talks exploring client-side AI agents and the Cyber Resilience Act, with Google’s John Mueller busting SEO myths in a Q&A session.
The conference will conclude with a highly anticipated fireside chat featuring WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard and co-founder Matt Mullenweg.
Not in Basel? Recordings of all sessions across tracks one and two will be live streamed on the WordPress.org YouTube channel.
Behind the scenes: organizers and volunteers bring WCEU to life
More than 2,000 people are expected to attend WCEU 2025, which has been organized and produced by a team of 90 organizers and 140 volunteers, led by WordCamp veterans Laura Sacco, Steve Mosby, and Uros Tasic.
Reflecting on the planning that led up to the event, Sacco told The Repository in an interview last month, “We wanted to create a real sense of community. WordCamp is a community event, and despite everything that’s been happening, we wanted it to feel like a celebration of what connects us.”
For more on how the event came together: Inside WordCamp Europe 2025: Lead Organizers on Making Basel Affordable, Inclusive, and Community-First
The event has again been granted the official Patronage of the European Parliament — the second consecutive year WordCamp Europe has received this recognition.
Alt Ctrl Org to tackle free speech and open governance
Meanwhile, Alt Ctrl Org is also happening today in Basel. The unofficial side event, which focuses on free speech and governance in open source, features speakers from the Free Software Foundation, TYPO3, Open Source Pledge, The WP Community Collective, and AspirePress.
A panel discussion on The Future of WordPress — featuring Joost de Valk (Emilia Capital), Sé Reed (The WPCC), and Sarah Savage (AspirePress), moderated by Francesca Marano (Patchstack) — will round out the sold-out, 200-person gathering.
The Repository is a proud media partner of WordCamp Europe 2025.
Images: WordCamp Europe.
