Microsoft pulls major tech conference from Seattle over crime, drug use, homelessness

Seattle has lost one of its most high-profile tech events due to mounting concerns over public safety and deteriorating conditions in the city’s downtown core. Microsoft has confirmed that it will no longer host its annual Build conference in Seattle starting in 2026, citing issues related to rampant homelessness, visible drug use, and urban decay.

According to an internal email obtained by journalist Jonathan Choe of the Discovery Institute, Visit Seattle—the city’s official tourism and marketing organization—was informed that Microsoft will cancel its 2026 event and release all future holds for the conference in Seattle. The email, titled “DEFINITE BOOKING CANCELLATION NOTICE,” said the decision was heavily influenced by the experience of company leadership and attendees walking the downtown core between the Hyatt Regency and the Arch Building on 8th Street.

“The customers cited the general uncleanliness of the street scene, visibility of individuals engaging in drug use, and unhoused individuals, including the recurring tent in the Arch Tunnel,” the email stated. “Microsoft has previously addressed these concerns and Visit Seattle has been working actively with SPD, DSA [Downtown Seattle Association], the Care team, and others... Unfortunately for Build, it was a contributing factor to their final decision to move out of Seattle.”

Microsoft's Build conference has long served as a showcase of Seattle’s innovation and global tech prominence. It typically brings in thousands of developers and tech insiders from around the world and has been a signature event for the city’s economy. Its departure is a major blow to Seattle’s struggling tourism and convention business, especially as downtown continues to battle the aftermath of the pandemic, rising crime, and a homelessness crisis that city officials have so far failed to contain.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the move, saying, “Our plans for Build 2026 have changed, but our vision to empower builders and developers at a major event next year remains the same. We thank the city and the community for their support over the years.”

This year, attendees also had to contend with pro-Hamas activists attempting to enter the conference, protesting outside, and vandalizing the convention center. Several managed to disrupt the event itself.

Local restaurateur David Meinert posted about the cancellation on Facebook, citing complaints from conference attendees about open-air drug use, aggressive behavior, and tents crowding sidewalks. “Mayor Bruce Harrell’s downtown activation plan is not having the success he claims,” Meinert wrote. “I can tell you firsthand how poorly the massive spending on different city agencies is going, due to the inability for them to communicate and work together. It’s 100% about lack of leadership.”

Visit Seattle acknowledged the cancellation as a “huge loss for the city” and expressed disappointment that years of efforts to address the issues surrounding the convention core were ultimately not enough to retain one of the city's most influential corporate partners. Its departure highlights the growing unease among business leaders over the city’s trajectory and raises questions about whether other major events will follow Microsoft’s lead.

Last week, James Beard Award-winning chef Renee Erickson announced she was permanently closing two locations of her General Porpoise café and temporarily shutting down her signature Seattle steakhouse, Bateau, and neighboring Boat Bar later this month due to the increasing strain of operating costs, property crime, and labor shifts on the Seattle dining scene, which has yet to fully recover from the pandemic closures.

Earlier this year, Starbucks permanently closed stores in prime Seattle locations despite locations always being packed with customers, especially tourists. In 2022, the coffee giant’s former CEO and founder, Howard Schultz, told employees that Starbucks would be closing locations due to safety concerns, including 5 Seattle stores. He blamed elected leaders of the Democrat cities where the stores are closing, "at the local state and federal level, these governments... and leaders, mayors and governors, and city councils have advocated their responsibility in fighting crime & addressing mental illness."

Other businesses have fled the Emerald City, including large brands such as the Hard Rock Café, Target, and Nike, as well as some smaller, minority, and family-owned businesses. Amazon Go shuttered its downtown locations due to underperformance, and the city has begun drawing comparisons to San Francisco, which for years has seen businesses fleeing the downtown core.