Thank you, Europython 2024

This year's Europython and all of its people will always have a special place in my heart and memories.

I had the opportunity to be one of the organizers from the operations team.

During the event I:

• saw at most 5 minutes of talks, specifically the CPython panel discussion, before the printer called to say they had our last-minute order of badges ready for pickup

• met my favorite developer and YouTuber only because I noticed his name while helping to pre-sort the badges for registration

• had time to leave for a second round of a job interview and picked up stickers on my way back to the venue

• went for a last-minute pickup of bottled water for the speakers (in what turned out to be the hottest hour of the week) because we ran out

• pulled a rusty nail out of a bench at a beer garden so nobody would get their pants torn

• discovered that you can order even ratchet straps with overnight delivery

• almost fell off a ladder while routing cables above the doorway when preparing the social event because tape never sticks to the floor

• had a very educated conversation with a staff lady at DM when buying female hygiene products for our bathrooms

• stayed until the very end of the social event to do some rough cleaning, slept for two hours, and went back to deliver the remaining "chlebíčky" to the PCC for other volunteers

• built a king-sized bed from various furniture for Bara as a thank you for her superb work organizing the social event

and many other more or less important tasks.

And I enjoyed every second of it.

But if that's just me, imagine what else was done by the rest of the organizers and especially our volunteers. Nobody was getting paid; all of it was done in our free time, yet we all gave our best to make this conference happen.

You all have my great admiration for all the work you have done.

So if you ever meet a person in a volunteer t-shirt or someone with an organizer badge, make sure to say "thank you" – it really makes our day.

With all of you, I had a great time. From friendly teasing, professional debates, constructive opinions to very serious, wholesome debates I thought I would never have.

You all know who you are.

This brings me to one person I will address directly who was very dear to me (and others!) this event. I want to thank Laís Carvalho for being the undisputed heart and a literal sun of the conference.

The joy and good mood she radiated was almost measurable in the infrared spectrum. She always had time, even if only a second, to send a smile or a hug to everybody who needed it.

May all of your backends run as smoothly as the one we at Europython had "behind the registration desk".

Another big thank you to all of you, and I will see you next year.

And don't forget to "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life".