1500 people were invited to participate in the assembly; of these, 1200 were chosen at random from the national registry,[2] while 300 were representatives of companies, institutions and other groups.[2]
Participants represented a cross section of Icelandic society, ranging in age from 18 to 88[3] and spanning all six constituencies of Iceland, with 73, 77, 89, 365 and 621 people attending from the Northwest, Northeast, South, Southwest and Reykjavík (combined), respectively; 47% of the attendants were women, while 53% were men.[7] Participants not from the Reykjavík area were flown in for free;[3] the event's total cost of 27 million ISK was covered by individuals, companies and other institutions,[3] with the Icelandic government contributing 7 million ISK.[3]
The event was followed by both Icelandic and international media, with journalists from The Economist[8] and other media attending.