They're cool with that too, at least that's what the FAQ says. You just aren't allowed to hang around without taking part, I gather.

I just booked a ticket after seeing the article here, and I'm pretty excited. Even if my idea doesn't win any votes, It'll be a fun challenge for the weekend at least and just possibly a big opportunity.

Also, reading around I found a discount code for the event here: http://www.cabume.co.uk/the-cluster/inaugural-cambridge-star...

Could not have said it better myself :-)

We want to get people along to try out their ideas, and also who just want to collaborate on great projects! Great startups are born of great teams of people, who are much more important than any one idea.

Today we have also announced special prizes for Wireless and Healthcare projects, as well as our overall prize for best project.

To find out more, look here - http://cambridge.startupweekend.org

Hanging out is definitely allowed. There isn't really any ridged structure outside of pitching and organizing teams. And even then nothing is set in stone.

If you're a developer or designer I'd definitely recommend hanging around, they always seem to be in short supply. 54 hours isn't a lot of time to start a company so teams will take as much help as they can get.

As for an idea that's 'too big', if you're really in love with it and want to pitch it I'd recommend segmenting it. Try to find a feature or a subset of features you could build in a weekend with a team. SW is what building a startup would be in a perfect world, where you have everyone and everything you need right at your finger tips. But it only last 54-hours, so capitalize on it while you can.

Also, if you need help with your pitch just tweet before the event using the hashtag and ask for help. That's what I did and I got people (namely @JoshSamBob) jumping in to help even before it started!

Absolutely. Since that event, I've helped run a few others, to the point where I became a Global Facilitator for Startup Weekend - I just returned from running Startup Weekend Tel-Aviv. I can tell you that you don't need an idea to pitch; in fact, joining a team can be just as much fun as forming your own.

It's fun (and a valuable experience) to pitch. But in some ways, people sometimes get more out of the 54 hours when there's none of the emotional pre-attachment to your own idea, and none of the resistance to flexing it with insights from the team and the mentors.