Forbes‘s Under 30 Summit to Bring Jessica Alba, Other Big Stars to Boston

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Expect big events and even bigger stars when Forbes brings its annual Under 30 Summit to Boston this fall.

The conference, now in its third year, is expected to attract more than 5,000 influential young people and entrepreneurs to town in order to network, exchange new ideas, as well as celebrate successful youth in various sectors, including the winners of the magazine’s 30 Under 30 lists.

The four-day gathering, which takes place October 16 to 19, is the “the best event of the year” to engage with emerging innovators and leaders, according to Forbes magazine editor Randall Lane.

“If you want to change the world in 50 years, this is the best audience anywhere in the world this year to speak to,” Lane said.

The Under 30 Summit will be tripling in size for this year’s festivities in order to accommodate the growing number of attendees.

Organizers will be setting up the main event at Faneuil Hall with the campuses of Harvard Business School, Northeastern University, and Emerson College serving as venues for additional festivities. There will also be a massive Under 30 Village that will serve as the conference’s nucleus at City Hall Plaza, which will connect with five different hubs that each center around a different theme.

Having featured high-profile speakers such as Malala Yousafzai and Monica Lewinsky in the past, the 2016 event won’t be short on big names. So far, confirmed guests include actress turned cosmetic company founder Jessica Alba, actor and investor Ashton Kutcher, model and author Chrissy Teigen, chef Bobby Flay, and a who’s who of CEOs, educators, and other leaders.

Mayor Marty Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker have been announced as speakers as well.

In addition to panels and TED-style talks, organizers have a slew of fun events planned for the Under the 30 Summit. Attendees can expect a beer garden, a bar crawl, a food festival curated by Chris Coombs, and a free music festival that will take place at the Under 30 Village.

“This is a young, innovative crowd that understands that this is not their father’s conference,” Lane said. “This is a true celebration of ideas and a limitless future and the idea that we can change the world.”

Boston was a natural fit for the conference because its high concentration of college students and for being a growing hub for business and innovation. Lane hopes bringing the event to the region will help “accelerate a city that’s on the move and that’s emerging as a power in this area.”

Another goal of the Under 30 Summit is to engage with the community in a positive way, which is why Forbes is working with area schools and universities like Berklee, which will be providing local music at each stage throughout the conference.

The festivities will wrap up with a service day, including a hackathon on issues important to Boston as well as bringing speakers to every public high school school in the city so they can empower and inspire students.

“There are a lot of these big events that come and they leave the city worst off than when they started it,” Lane said. “This is an event where we want to plant a figurative forest of trees and leave the city better off, both in terms of what we give directly to the city and also exposing the people who are going to be running every field to what Boston’s about.”

Update, August 31: The ever-growing list of guests now includes Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch, Patriots star Martellus Bennett, and former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

Richard Branson Photo by D@LY3D on Flickr / Creative Commons

Update, July 28: Organizers have announced that Deepak Chopra and tennis star Maria Sharapova will be speaking at the event, along with Hamilton stars Okieriete Onaodowan and Anthony Ramos. Other notable additions to the speakers list include Scooter Braun, founder of SB Projects and manager for Justin Bieber and Usher, as well as Andy Katz Mayfield, cofounder and co-CEO of the men’s shaving company.

Forbes’s Under 30 Summit comes to Boston October 16-19. For more information, check out forbesconferences.com.