WordCamps are some of the best parts of being in the WordPress community. They bring people together from around the world to learn, connect, and contribute. The three flagship events, WordCamp Asia, WordCamp Europe, and WordCamp US, each have their own energy, culture, and audience. They’re not just conferences. They’re where ideas are shared, friendships are formed, and the future of WordPress often takes shape.

But in 2026, something unusual is happening.

A stacked WordPress season

All three flagship WordCamps are scheduled within four and a half months of each other. That’s a lot of WordCamp in a very short span. At first glance, it might even feel exciting, with three big gatherings in quick succession, full of momentum.

The reality, though, is more complicated.

Running a flagship WordCamp takes an enormous amount of work. Attending one requires time, energy, and money. Sponsoring one takes months of planning and budget coordination. When you place three major events so closely together, the pressure builds. Organizers get overwhelmed, sponsors feel stretched, and attendees are forced to make tough choices.

In this post, I want to take a closer look at what this condensed schedule means for the WordPress community. We’ll talk about the hidden work behind organizing and sponsoring these events, the challenges of summer scheduling, and the growing cost of participating. Then, I’ll share why I believe the 2026 schedule is not ideal, and why I hope we’ll see a more balanced approach in 2027.

Organizing a WordCamp takes real work

Behind every WordCamp is a team of dedicated volunteers who spend months planning, coordinating, and refining every detail. Organizing a flagship WordCamp is not something you throw together in a few weekends. It often takes 9 to 12 months of meetings, emails, budget planning, speaker wrangling, sponsor outreach, venue scouting, and volunteer coordination.

One of the first and hardest steps? Securing a venue.

Historically, flagship WordCamps attract between 1,500 and 3,000 attendees. And realistically, in order to make those numbers, we do need a fair share of repeat attendees, as the part of our community that’s willing and able to travel is not that big. Anyway, it does mean we’re not booking your average conference center or hotel ballroom. The kind of venues that can support this scale, with multiple breakout rooms, large halls, accessibility features, and nearby lodging and international transportation options, typically need to be reserved years in advance. That’s already a challenge in itself, but it becomes even harder when the average organizing timeline is only about a year to 18 months long.

This mismatch creates a difficult situation. Organizers are expected to find, reserve, and plan around a major venue within a very tight cycle, often without guarantees about exact dates or budgets at the outset. And that’s before they even get to the rest of the planning work.

Choosing the right dates is another puzzle. Organizers need to account for religious holidays, school breaks, and national celebrations. Think of major observances like Ramadan, Diwali, and Passover, or local holidays like King’s Day in the Netherlands. Summer vacations and long weekends also play a role, as they can drive up costs or reduce attendance. Getting the timing right means juggling all of that while still fitting within a narrow planning window.

On top of that, the global WordPress calendar limits options even more. With three flagship WordCamps scheduled within a few months of each other, it’s harder for each team to carve out space that avoids overlap in planning cycles, sponsorship asks, and community attention.

It takes incredible effort, empathy, and coordination to pull off a flagship event. And when the global schedule gets too crowded, that effort becomes much harder to sustain.

The summer squeeze: WordCamp US during vacation season

All of these scheduling challenges come into sharp focus when we look at the decision to host WordCamp US 2026 in mid-August in Phoenix, Arizona.

While organizers always do their best within the constraints they face, this particular timing raises several concerns, both from a logistical and community perspective. Just like the venue challenges, the ripple effects go far beyond the calendar.

A difficult time for many

August falls right in the heart of summer vacation season. In the US, this is near the beginning of the school year, so families are often either finishing up traveling or preparing for their children heading off to school. In most of Europe, July and August are the traditional months for extended holidays. This impacts not only potential attendees but also contributors and speakers who might otherwise be involved in preparing for the event.

Planning, submitting talks, coordinating travel, or even just staying on top of event updates becomes much harder when you’re trying to do it between beach trips and out-of-office replies. This kind of scheduling makes community participation unnecessarily difficult, especially for those who normally take on an active role in making these events a success.

Phoenix in August is a tough sell

Phoenix is a beautiful and vibrant city, but there’s no denying it: August in Arizona is brutally hot. Average daily highs are well over 100°F (38°C), and it barely cools down during the night. While venues are air-conditioned, getting around still requires time outdoors. That’s not just uncomfortable. For some attendees, especially those sensitive to heat or with health conditions, it can be a serious barrier.

While this may not be a dealbreaker for everyone, it does make the event less accessible and less attractive to a wide audience.

And then we’re not even talking about the environmental impact of having to cool down such a large venue to reasonable conference temperatures. 

Lower attendance means tighter budgets

Fewer attendees don’t just affect the vibe of the event. It also impacts budgets and sponsor decisions. Sponsors are far more likely to commit when they expect strong, engaged attendance. If the timing or location results in lower turnout, organizers may find it harder to secure the financial support they need to make the event viable at scale. And it doesn’t affect just this year’s event; it’s very likely to have a spiraling effect in years to come.

This kind of downward pressure adds to the already complex challenges of running a flagship WordCamp. 

No call for boycott: I hope to be there

Let me be very clear: this is not a call to boycott WordCamp US 2026.

In fact, I hope I’ll be able to attend. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Tempe and Phoenix earlier this year at PressConf and would love the chance to return. The local WordPress community is fantastic, and there are many more trails to walk and mountains to hike (although that might be a slight challenge in August).

No, this is simply a reflection on the bigger picture, and a moment to pause and ask whether we’re setting ourselves up for success. A flagship event should feel open, welcoming, and accessible. That includes not only what happens during the event itself, but also the long months leading up to it.

Sponsor pressure is real and growing

Sponsorship plays a huge role in making flagship WordCamps possible. Tickets for these events are usually low-priced, and cover only a small fraction of the actual cost of running them. Everything from venue rental and AV setup to catering and contributor day space depends on sponsor funding. Without strong sponsor support, these events simply wouldn’t be possible.

But just like organizing the event itself, organizing a sponsorship is a serious commitment.

Sponsorship takes months of preparation

It’s not just about wiring money and showing up with a roll-up banner. Companies often spend weeks, if not months, preparing for a flagship WordCamp. There’s booth design and production to consider, logistics for team members flying in from different countries and continents, planning raffles or giveaways, and sometimes even organizing a side event or dinner. For global teams, this gets even more complex.

Now imagine doing that three times within 4.5 months.

That’s the situation sponsors face in 2026, with flagship events clustered so closely together. For companies that want to show up at all three, the timeline is extremely tight. It’s hard enough to prepare one solid presence, let alone three in such a short span. Even large teams with dedicated event staff will feel stretched. For smaller companies, it may simply be too much.

As a result, we will see fewer sponsors commit to all three flagship WordCamps. Instead, they are likely to choose just one or two, most likely the ones closest to their core markets or time zones. That makes sense from a business perspective, but it leaves each organizing team with fewer committed sponsors to approach and a more challenging job in securing the funding needed to run a flagship event.

This isn’t a criticism of the sponsors. I absolutely get it. It’s simply a reflection of the logistical and financial reality. We’re always asking a lot from the same group of companies. And in 2026, even more so by having our events in a very short amount of time.

The cost of participation adds up

WordCamps are inspiring, energizing, and deeply rewarding. Many people in the WordPress community look forward to them all year. But attending one isn’t free, and attending multiple can get expensive fast.

Even though ticket prices are low, usually between 50 and 100 euro/dollar, or its local equivalent. However, the true cost of attending goes far beyond that. Flights, hotel rooms, local transport, food, and sometimes childcare or time off work all add up. For those traveling internationally, the total cost easily reaches over a thousand euros per event.

Now imagine doing that two or even three times in just a few months.

This isn’t just about attendees. Speakers, workshop hosts, volunteers, and contributors all face the same financial realities. None of them get paid by the event. And for many of them, these events are not even part of a company-sponsored business trip. These events are personal investments. When events are spaced out over the year, it’s easier to plan, save, and recover. When they come in rapid succession, fewer people can afford to be part of all of them.

That reduced participation affects more than just the people who stay home. It also impacts the diversity of voices at each event, the richness of hallway conversations, and the pool of people available to contribute in person.

It’s not hard to imagine some participants picking one flagship to attend and skipping the others. Most will choose the one that is easiest or most affordable to get to, which means the crowd at each event may reflect regional convenience more than the community balance we’d love to see at our flagship events.

Conclusion: We can do better in 2027

Flagship WordCamps are among the most meaningful experiences in our community. They give us space to collaborate, learn, and celebrate the work we all do. I believe it’s important that these events remain as accessible as possible for people from across the WordPress community, and even beyond. That’s exactly why it matters how and when they happen.

When we compress all three flagship events into just a few months, we put pressure on the very people who make these events special. Organizers, sponsors, speakers, volunteers, and attendees all end up facing difficult trade-offs. We’ve looked at how tight scheduling affects planning, how summer holidays limit participation, how sponsors get stretched, and how the cost of attending multiplies.

Still, this is not about pointing fingers. I fully understand how hard it is to lock in venues, especially for events of this size. WordCamp US returning to Phoenix in August for a second year is a clear example of how long-term planning affects short-term flexibility.

But even if 2026 is largely locked in, I genuinely hope we can learn from it.

There is room to create a better, more sustainable schedule. Maybe that means shifting WordCamp Asia back to its earlier spot in February or March. Maybe it means moving WordCamp US into late September or early October in the future. That extra breathing space between events could give each region the attention it deserves, and give everyone involved more time to prepare, recover, and participate fully.

Or, actually, an easier way to space flagship events is by not having three a year. What if we did just two a year, rotating between continents? That would also allow us to add Africa, South America, and maybe even Australia to that rotation, without adding even more pressure to our already stressed conference schedule.

I believe we can get there. The passion and dedication in the WordPress community are unmatched. With a bit more space between our biggest events, we can make them even better for everyone involved.

What lessons do you think we can take from the 2026 schedule to help shape a stronger WordCamp calendar in the years ahead? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!