THE WORLD’S BIGGEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL EVENT ON URBAN INNOVATION
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL EVENT ON URBAN INNOVATION – Smart City Expo World Congress, Barcelona, November 4-6 2025.
We are delighted to be partner of the world’s biggest and most influential event for cities and urban innovation. This year’s event will welcome over 25,000 professional visitors from more than 130 countries around the globe, 1,100+ exhibitors, 600+ speakers, and representatives from 850+ cities.
Our session will take place November 4th, 14:05 – 14:50 , Impact Tech stage on the topic of Democratic Innovation in European Cities, where our Svetlana Tesic will host a session with city leaders from Stockholm, Poznan and Bologna.
🔗 Register now: https://lnkd.in/dnM9Efg
Since its launch in 2011, Smart City Expo World Congress has mirrored and shaped the journey of smart cities themselves. What began as a relatively small gathering with the goal of extending the smart city concept globally has evolved into the world’s leading platform for urban innovation and transformation. In early years, the emphasis was on raising awareness and encouraging cities to rethink how they function. Although that mission remains essentially intact, many things have changed in these 15 years.
Because today, cities occupy just over 2% of the Earth’s land surface but account for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions and consume over 75% of the world’s energy. As urban populations continue to grow and are projected to reach nearly 70% of the global population by 2050, cities are clearly both the main battlefield and the solution to planetary sustainability.
In a second phase, once everyone knew what smart cities were and why they were the solution, the focus of the event (and also of smart cities) shifted, and technology deployment took center stage. Cities like Singapore pioneered urban data platforms, and Barcelona implemented smart street lighting and sensor networks. These often began as pilot projects, but they proved that scalable, tech-enabled solutions could have a real impact.
Today, in whats considered a third phase, the focus has moved decisively toward citizen well-being. It seems quite clear today that the most meaningful innovation is not necessarily the most advanced technology, it’s the solution that improves quality of life whether highly technological or not. Initiatives like Amsterdam’s Circular Economy Strategy, Copenhagen’s carbon neutrality efforts, Barcelona’s superblocks, and New York City’s participatory budgeting programs reflect this shift. Smart cities are no longer about technology, they’re about people-first transformation. About reducing inequality and putting citizens at the center of everything.
The most transformative trends we should expect to see in smart cities in the near future are definitely Artificial Intelligenc, would be one of them. AI is transforming everything and in the urban landscape it is changing how cities manage a wide array of aspects from traffic flows to energy demand. AI-enabled urban systems can manage resources, anticipate challenges, and personalize services, optimize energy use, and improve emergency response.
Second, we are witnessing a rapid evolution in urban digital twins, virtual replicas of cities used to simulate infrastructure changes before physical implementation. Singapore, for example, is leading in this field with its Virtual Singapore project, offering city planners a comprehensive, real-time model of the city. In fact, the very same venue where we hold the event every year, Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, has its own digital twin, which helps us plan the event and manage it more efficiently in every way. The same is true for cities and co-located event Tomorrow.Building will cover this theme comprehensively.
Third, the decentralization of energy through micro-grids and citizen-led renewable generation is changing how cities power themselves. Cities like Freiburg and Malmö are leading the way with community energy models that lower carbon footprints and foster local resilience.
All of these trends will be discussed at this year’s Congress and also showcased at exhibition and innovation zones.
We, at Mayors of Europe, are committed to fostering collaborative leadership, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with Smart City EXPO at this event. With such a diverse range of stakeholders and broad consensus from local governments to tech innovators, Collaboration is the cornerstone of progress. Collaboration at every level. The next wave of smart, sustainable cities in Europe will be unlocked through it.
European cities have already demonstrated remarkable leadership: Paris’ Climate Action Plan, Vienna’s social housing innovation, and Helsinki’s MyData movement are just a few examples of how collaborative, citizen-first approaches can deliver significant change.
Although every city is different and what works in one might not necessarily work as good in another, efforts to create solutions that are scalable across cities and countries will be crucial.
