Here are my thoughts after attending Nordic Domain Days for the first time.

Nordic Domain Days (NDD) took place this week in Stockholm, kicking off Sunday evening and concluding Tuesday night.

A record 450 people from 77 countries attended this year.

For those who have attended other domain conferences but not NDD, here are a few things that make NDD different.

The content is excellent

I think there are a couple of reasons the content is especially good.

First, the conference doesn’t sell speaking spots or guarantee that sponsors will get on stage.

Second, most sessions feature an individual presenter rather than a panel. Individual presentations require a lot more prep, and there were some really good talks. I have nothing against panels, but a mix is nice. As someone who rarely attends conference sessions anymore, I found myself scheduling time for many of them.

The audience was different

First, many people from Europe don’t attend conferences elsewhere, or at least not in North America. I met many people for the first time in Stockholm.

Second, it’s more registrar/registry focused than domain investors. Giuseppe Graziano of GGRG led a few sessions about domain investing, but it was a very different audience than I’m used to. I think there’s a good opportunity to attract more domain investors to the show and add more domain-investing content, particularly with unique perspectives on the European market.

The environment encouraged people to stay on site

The setup is neat: you enter “the living room,” which is where there are meeting tables, snacks, a bar at certain times, and an arcade.

Yes, an arcade. High scorers won prizes.

The session hall is directly next to the living room. On the first day, there was one track; on the second day, there was a main track and masterclasses.

There are also meeting rooms and a VIP lounge.

There was something you could do from eight in the morning until late at night without leaving the hotel—the first night ended with karaoke, and the second with several live entertainment acts.

Oh, and tattoos. I’ve never been to a business conference where you could get piercings and tattoos on site.

Having dinner and entertainment each night is nice, especially for newcomers who might not have anyone to make plans with.

I’m glad I attended, and hope to attend in future years. I’d like to see a bigger investor contingent in the future, so mark your calendar for the next NDD June 6-8, 2027.