Smart City Expo urges cities to be drivers of change in its 2025 edition.

The main international event on smart cities and urban solutions organized by Fira de Barcelona, ​​​​theSmart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) will celebrate its largest edition in 2025. From Tuesday 4th to Thursday 6th November, the trade fair and congress aims to harness the full potential of technologies to transform the urban landscape. To achieve this, it will bring together more than 1,100 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors, surpassing the attendance of the previous edition.

The event, which will be held at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Vía venue and under the motto "The Time for Cities", will focus on strategies for transforming today's metropolises into more sustainable and livable spaces, and will give a central role to artificial intelligence as a key asset capable of accelerating the transition toward more efficient and sustainable cities. Therefore, the new space "" is being launched at the SCEWC"AI-enabled cities", where attendees will be able to learn from leading companies in this field how AI can drive urban transformation projects around the world.

The event's director, Ugo Valenti, stated: "Twenty-five years into this new millennium, we know that cities are more than clusters of infrastructure: they are dynamic systems built around the lives of millions of people and our greatest asset in curbing climate change and ensuring a better future for the world." He emphasized that "Smart City Expo is the place where companies, experts, and government officials work toward this common goal, while sharing strategies, technologies, and projects to accelerate the process of better cities."

Apart from the new area "AI-enabled cities", there will be an exhibition space that brings together leading companies from around the world to showcase the latest solutions and technologies. These include Axis Communications, Bentley, Dahua Technology, Dassault Systèmes, Dell, Deloitte, iotsquared, Microsoft, Nvidia, Spie, Urbaser, and Ve'a. Country pavilions, including those of Argentina, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In this vein, SCEWC brings together more than 600 international speakers and experts at its congress to share the latest experiences and advances in a conference program structured around eight thematic axes: Enabling Technologies, Energy and Environment, Mobility, Governance and Economy, Life and Inclusion, and Infrastructure.

Confirmed speakers include Nikki Greenberg, CEO of Real Estate of the Future, a globally recognized futurologist and strategic advisor; Kate O'Neill, founder and CEO of KO Insights, a renowned digital innovator; and architect Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT Senseable City Lab and widely recognized as one of the most influential thinkers in the field of smart cities. Other confirmed experts include Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General for Environment at the European Commission; Matt Hale, Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles; Monica Lucarelli, Deputy Mayor of the City of Rome; Jeff Merritt, Head of Urban Transformation at the World Economic Forum; Josephine Ong, Vice President of Cities and Public Services at Dassault Systèmes; and Jaroslaw Sarna, Minister of Digital Affairs of Poland.

This year, the fair will also focus on the potential of startups as a driver for the development of new solutions. To this end, the event is reintroducing the Innovation Playground, designed to connect key players in the global urban innovation ecosystem, including investors, research centers, and 80 startupsThus, the number of innovative startups participating in the event reaches 350, adding to those already present in other areas of the event.