'Feel alive again': Attendees delighted to return to Lisbon's tech fest

General view of the opening ceremony of Web Summit, Europe's largest technology conference, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 1, 2021. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

LISBON (Reuters) - Smiling behind her mask, Roberta Astuto, a British Italian account executive, is one of the 40,000 people descending upon Lisbon on Tuesday for Europe's largest tech fest. She is over the moon to return after COVID-19 forced it online last year.

"It feels so good to be back to almost normal - even with masks," Astuto, 52, said as she looked for her company's booth in one of the conference's huge pavilions. "It makes me feel alive again."