The event will see the debut of the AI-enabled cities area to showcase how this technology can improve and speed up urban transformation
Smart City Expo urges cities to become drivers of change in its 2025 edition
Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), the leading international event on cities and smart urban solutions organized by Fira de Barcelona will match its largest edition ever in 2025. From November 4-6 and under the theme “The Time for Cities” the show and congress aims to seize the full potential of technologies to transform the urban landscape gathering over 1,100 exhibitors, 25,000 delegates exceeding last year’s attendance.
The event, held at Fira’s Gran Via venue, will focus on strategies to transform current metropolises into more sustainable, efficient, and livable spaces and will give a central role to Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a key asset capable of accelerating a much-needed push towards more efficient and sustainable cities. To do so, SCEWC will host the new “AI-enabled cities” where attendees will be able to learn how this technology can improve and speed up urban transformation projects worldwide.
This new area will add to an exhibition floor space that will bring together leading companies from around the world to showcase the latest solutions and technologies. Among them are Axis Communications, Bentley, Dahua Technology, Dassault Systèmes, Dell, Deloitte, iotsquared, Microsoft, Nvidia, Spie, Urbaser and Veolia. In addition to companies, the event will also house a large number of country pavilions including those from Argentina, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Nordics, United Kingdom and the USA.
The event’s director, Ugo Valenti, said that “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 and our greatest asset to curb climate change and secure a better future for millions of people around the world. Smart City Expo is the place where companies, experts and government officials act in this common goal and share strategies, technologies and projects that speed the process.”
The Capital of Urban Knowledge
Along these lines, SCEWC will gather over 600 speakers and international experts in its congress to share the latest experiences and breakthroughs in urban transformation in a conference program structured around eight main tracks: Enabling Technologies, Energy & Environment, Mobility, Governance & Economy, Living & Inclusion, Infrastructure & Building, and Blue Economy.
Among the confirmed speakers are Nikki Greenberg, CEO of Real Estate of the future and a globally recognized futurist and strategic advisor with over two decades of experience in real estate development, urban innovation and technology-driven transformation; Kate O’Neill, Founder and CEO of KO Insights, a renowned digital innovator focused on enhancing human experiences at scale through data-driven and AI-led interactions, who has worked with companies Google, IBM, Microsoft, and the United Nations; and architect Carlo Ratti, Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab and widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in smart city design.
Other confirmed speakers include Patrick Child, Deputy Director General of Environment at the European Commission; Matt Hale, Deputy Mayor of the City 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 & Public Services at Dassault Systèmes; Jaroslaw Sarna, Minister of Digital Affairs of Poland.
The Global Hub of Innovation
In 2025, SCEWC will also focus on the potential of startups as a driving force capable of developing new solutions in the urban transformation field. To achieve this goal, the event will reprise its Innovation Playground, a space to connect the main players of the global urban innovation ecosystem including investors, research centers and 80 startups. This will rise the number of young innovative companies at the show to almost 350 when adding those present at other areas of SCEWC.
World Smart City Awards
SCEWC will also host a new edition of the World Smart City Awards to acknowledge the most outstanding initiatives and projects in the innovation and urban transformation industry. With a total of 462 entries from 65 countries, the 14th edition of these accolades is the biggest to date. The winners of the 9 categories featured – City, Leadership, Innovation, Enabling Technologies project, Energy & Environment project, Mobility project, Governance & Economy project, Living & Inclusion project, and Infrastructure & Buildings project – will be announced during a special gala hosted on the evening of Wednesday, November 5th.
Global platform of urban Innovation
Fira de Barcelona will strengthen its role a global hub for urban innovation by holding SCEWC 2025 together with Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, Tomorrow Building World Congress,Tomorrow.Blue Economy, and the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit.
Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, jointly organized by Fira de Barcelona and EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, a body of the European Union, aims to speed up the adoption of new sustainable urban mobility paradigms. Focusing on topics as Staying competitive in the race to net-zero, The future of mobility: exploring the next decade of innovations, Innovations to increase the resilience and quality of mobility systems, Solutions for sustainable commuting, and Autonomous mobility in public transport.
In addition, Tomorrow.Building World Congress will bring together the construction sector to showcase the most innovative solutions, projects and strategies for transforming the industry. To do so, the event will focus on eight key themes: Design Tech, Digital Building Innovation, City Infrastructures, Decarbonized Building, Resilient City Planning, Retrofitting Urban Fabric, Proptech, and Housing. With over 100 experts and 30 conference sessions, keynote speakers include Renate Mitterhuber, Head of Smart Cities and Regions at the German Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building; Maria Buhigas, Chief Architect of the Barcelona City Council; and Martha Thorne, Senior Advisor at the Henrik F. Obel Foundation and former Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Tomorrow.Blue Economy will hold its fourth edition with the goal of promoting the huge potential of the seas and oceans as a source of sustainable economic growth. Organized with the support of the Barcelona City Council, Port de Barcelona, World Ocean Council and Smart Ports: Piers of the Future, the event will gather experts, companies, institutions and community leaders to showcase innovative solutions, programs and best practices carried out in recent years with the aim of advancing an interdisciplinary approach in this field, including public-private collaboration. Among the topics discussed feature climate change, finance, offshore energy, water management, biodiversity, green shipping, smart ports, and recreational boating.
The Barcelona Deep Tech Summit, organized by Barcelona Activa, celebrates its fourth edition as a benchmark event for the southern European ecosystem, bringing together more than 600 startups, 180 investors, 400 representatives from universities and research centers, 275 corporations, and 70 speakers with the aim of connecting talent, sharing knowledge, facilitating the search for funding, and generating synergies that promote deep tech. The conference will have the slogan “Deep tech for a better future” and will feature a program based on debate and reflection on the potential of science and advanced technologies such as AI, quantum computing, robotics, and photonics as tools for solving humanity’s global challenges.
Register as media for Smart City Expo World Congress here.
Barcelona, October 28th 2025
Folc Lecha / Eduard Pérez
+34 93 233 35 55 / 21 66
flecha@firabarcelona.com / eperezm@firabarcelona.com