Smart City Expo World Congress

Shaping a leading event since 2011

We curate the world’s leading event on urban innovation and its 15+ international spin-offs, shaping the global conversation and bringing together diverse and relevant expert voices.

The challenge

In the face of an impending global population of 10 billion by 2050, with 70% residing in cities, rapid urbanization presents pressing challenges. To address these issues, the Smart City Expo World Congress, established in 2011 by Fira Barcelona, has emerged as a leading event for sharing urban solutions and fostering sustainable, inclusive, and dynamic cities. With exponential growth, this flagship event in Barcelona has become the global benchmark for cities and innovation, expanding its reach to 15+ international spin-offs in cities such as Bogotá, Shanghai, New York, Buenos Aires, Kyoto, and Montreal.

We curate the world's leading event on urban innovation and its 15+ international spin-offs, shaping the global conversation and bringing together diverse and relevant expert voices.

Our approach

Throughout the year, our curatorial team diligently analyzes key global trends relevant to the present and future of cities, taking into account all stakeholders involved in urban development and management. Collaborating with Fira Barcelona, we create the narrative and thematic paths of each edition, shaping engaging sessions that span both the physical congress venue and the virtual program, providing an insightful experience for audiences coming from all over the globe. Our commitment to inclusivity ensures the participation of expert voices from diverse backgrounds, fostering geographically and culturally diverse discussions.

In line with Fira Barcelona’s dedication to gender parity, we take immense pride in achieving a balanced representation of speakers and sessions. From featuring only 26% of women speakers before 2018, we have successfully helped to reach a remarkable 51% representation in the 2022 edition, marking a significant milestone.

The success of the main event in Barcelona has led the organizers to expand it around the world in the last decade, with editions we have also curated in Buenos Aires, New York, Shanghai, Montreal, Bogota, Istanbul, Santiago de Chile, Kyoto, Doha, Miami, Puebla, Casablanca, Mallorca, Curitiba, Merida, Jaipur, and Santiago del Estero.

The impact

The scale of the Smart City Expo World Congress is astounding. For the anticipated 2023 edition, projections include hosting 600+ speakers, over 25,000 in-person attendees, 30,000+ online attendees, 1,000 exhibitors, and representatives from 800+ cities across 140+ countries.

Renowned figures in urban topics and innovation, such as Jeremy Rifkin, Richard Florida, Beth Simone Noveck, Jeanette Sadikh-Khan, Carlos Moreno, Parag Khana, Hannah Fry, Carlo Ratti, Juliana Rotich, Ricky Burdett, and Amory Lovins, have taken the Smart City Expo World Congress stage, playing a pivotal role in the success of the event. The gathering annually brings together high-level political authorities from all continents, alongside representatives from leading companies actively involved in urban development.