Which other world leaders or public figures have received standing ovations at the World Economic Forum in past years?
Executive summary
Several high-profile figures at Davos 2026 drew standing ovations: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former U.S. President Donald Trump are all reported to have been met with sustained applause at World Economic Forum sessions this year [1] [2] [3]. The WEF and its Open Forum have also recorded emotional, eruptive responses to non-governmental figures in prior years, including Nobel laureates and cultural figures [4].
1. Davos 2026: Carney’s rare applause and who followed
Mark Carney’s address at the 2026 Annual Meeting concluded with what multiple outlets describe as a standing ovation from the assembled leaders and delegates, a reaction several reports call unusual for WEF sessions [1] [5] [6]. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s special address in Davos this year likewise prompted the host, WEF president Børge Brende, to remark that “you deserve every part of that standing ovation,” indicating an organized standing response from the room [2]. Coverage of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s appearance at Davos also notes a standing ovation and an unusually large crush of attendees trying to get into the room for his remarks [3].
2. Past WEF moments: activists, artists and Nobel laureates who moved rooms
The WEF’s Open Forum has a track record of emotional audience responses to non-state speakers: Nobel Prize winners Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, the Klitschko brothers, ballerina Misty Copeland and the late primatologist Jane Goodall are cited as past speakers who drew powerful reactions from attendees, with the Open Forum explicitly chronicling “an emotional outpouring” when Satyarthi appeared in 2019 [4]. The Open Forum’s remit — to broaden participation beyond closed sessions — explains why these moments tend to be more demonstrative than the more restrained main-stage exchanges [4].
3. What a standing ovation at Davos signals — and what it doesn’t
A standing ovation at Davos can be shorthand for cross-sector resonance — a message that landed with business, political and civil-society elites — but reporting underscores that such ovations remain notable precisely because they are not routine at the Forum’s plenary panels and policy debates [5] [6]. Interpretations diverge: some outlets framed Carney’s ovation as validation of a new middle‑power doctrine and a “manifesto” for other leaders [7] [8], while critics and political opponents framed the applause differently, with at least one report noting sharp criticism from President Trump after Carney’s speech [5]. The same dynamic applies to public figures and activists: an emotional reaction from the audience signals impact among that constituency of elites, but it is not equivalent to universal political support outside the Davos ecosystem [4].
4. Reporting gaps, agendas and how to read these moments
The WEF’s own coverage highlights the presence of standing ovations as markers of resonance but does not systematically catalog every ovation historically, leaving chronology and frequency fuzzy in press accounts [9] [2] [4]. Media outlets vary in emphasis according to editorial priorities — some celebrate the rhetorical moment as evidence of leadership [1] [8], while others focus on spectacle and security around high-profile speakers [3]. That divergence reflects implicit agendas: event organizers aim to showcase influence and gravitas [9] [4], whereas independent media often probe political implications or theatricality [7] [3]. The available sources document specific 2026 ovations for Carney, Zelenskyy and Trump and point to historically emotional responses for figures like Malala and Kailash Satyarthi, but they do not provide a comprehensive, verifiable list of every standing ovation in WEF history [1] [2] [3] [4].