The Brazilian edition is one of the 13 events that Fira will organise abroad in 2026
Curitiba will be the beacon of the Southern Cone’s urban future with its Smart City Expo
Fira de Barcelona kicks off its 2026 international events programme in the Brazilian city of Curitiba with Smart City Expo Curitiba (SCECWB), which will celebrate its 7th edition from 25 to 27 March. The event will bring together 140 companies, 85 speakers and 22,000 visitors, with the aim of promoting urban transformation in Latin America focused on citizens’ well-being.
The event, promoted by the City of Curitiba and organised by Fira de Barcelona, Smart City Expo World Congress and iCities, has the support of Vale do Pinhão, the city’s Innovation Agency. Under the slogan “Cities as places to innovate, create and experiment”, it will address the main challenges facing contemporary cities, with special attention to the Latin American context.
Over three days, the congress will revolve around five main thematic axes: Technology and Business Disruption; Digital Transformation and Innovation; Sustainable Cities and Climate Change; Governance and Digital Spaces; and Cities for People and Public Spaces.
To explore these issues, SCECWB will feature top‑level international speakers, including Shain Shapiro, a renowned expert in culture, music and their role in urban transformation, and Livia Schaeffer Nonose, a specialist in technology and innovation who argues that cities of the future should not lose their humanist focus. The line‑up also includes the Mayor of Las Rozas (Madrid) and President of the Spanish Network of Smart Cities, José de la Uz, and the Director of 22@Network Barcelona, Isabel Sabadí, among others.
Key players
Smart City Expo Curitiba reaffirms once again this year in the line of combining the participation of consolidated firms with emerging startups that have stood out for working on high-impact projects for the cities of the future. Thus, its exhibition area will bring together around 140 companies and institutions that will present solutions in areas such as connectivity, smart urban management, sustainability, mobility, data analytics and citizen participation. Among the companies that will be present at the event are Dassault Systèmes, Sebrae PR, EMnify, and Axis Communications.
On the other hand, the show will once again host the Brazilian Awards, which will celebrate a new edition recognizing outstanding projects and initiatives in innovation and urban development in Brazil. The categories will include innovation and digital transformation, sustainable city, urban mobility, social equity and recognition of the country’s outstanding Smart City.
Fira de Barcelona, an international platform
The new edition of Smart City Expo in Curitiba marks the first of the events that Fira de Barcelona will organise outside Spain in 2026. With 13 confirmed events, the trade fair institution is reinforcing its international expansion strategy.
Among the events already scheduled are the respective editions of Smart City Expo in Doha (Qatar), Puebla (Mexico), Santiago del Estero (Argentina), Santiago de Chile (Chile) and Santiago de Cali (Colombia); Tomorrow.City in Shanghai and in the United States (West Palm Beach, Florida); the second edition of Mexico Hospitality Expo in Guadalajara; and two new editions of Tomorrow.Blue Economy in Niterói (Brazil) and Cartagena de Indias (Colombia).
In addition, two premieres will take place in 2026: Argentina Alimenta, in Buenos Aires, and Aqaba Blue Ocean Future in Action, in Jordan.
Barcelona, March 24, 2026
Josep Lluís Mérida
932 332 114
[email protected]