Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), the leading international summit on cities and smart urban solutions organized by Fira de Barcelona, closed its 2024 edition this afternoon after registering record-breaking figures and focusing on ethical urban development. SCEWC was held with Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress – organized with the EIT urban Mobility –, Tomorrow.Building, Tomorrow.Blue Economy and the Barcelona Deeptech Summit. After three days, the events gathered over 25.771 attendees from more than 130 countries at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue.
Under the theme “Live Better”, the event brought together representatives from 850 cities, to showcase and share the experiences of their latest projects and initiatives. The conference program featured 632 speakers including Ruha Benjamin, expert in technology-based inequity; Majora Carter, urban revitalization strategist; Stephanie Hare, expert in technology and social justice; and Melati Wijsen, environmental activist.
Together, the events hosted a total of 1,150 exhibitors who showcased their latest products and solutions. Among these were industry leaders such as Saudi Aramco, Axis Communications, Dahua Technology, Dassault Systèmes, Dell/Nvidia, FCC Medio Ambiente, Hail City, KHNP, KPMG, Madinah City, MDEC, Microsoft, New Murabba, Nova Cidade, PNY, PWC, Roshn Group, Smart Ports – Piers of the Future, and Veolia.
The Director of Smart City Expo World Congress, Ugo Valenti said “the outcome of this year’s event has been particularly significant, not only because we set new records in terms of dimensions and attendance, but also because we proved that our focus is key to improving citizens’ lives worldwide. The fact that some of the solutions presented here helped in the response to the Valencia floodings is proof that our efforts are making a tangible difference. This event has certified that our mission to foster sustainable and liveable cities is more crucial than ever.”
Resilience, protagonist after Valencia floodings
Along these lines, companies and solutions on the urban resilience field and countries sharing their experiences managing natural disasters became protagonists of the 2024 edition after the flooding in Valencia (Spain) that occurred a few days before the event. The devastating rainfall highlighted the need for cities to prepare for the effects of climate change and be ready to guarantee the wellbeing of citizens. Technology enables governments and institutions to monitor and set early warning protocols that can mitigate the effects of events as the storms in Valencia.
SCEWC undertook several initiatives to support relief efforts including fundraising for the Red Cross and a program to channel solutions shared by exhibiting companies to help in the aftermath of the Valencia flooding and mitigate future flood risks.
World Smart City Awards
The Chinese city of Shenzen was awarded as “Smart City of 2024” at the World Smart City Awards that acknowledge every year the most outstanding initiatives and projects in the urban transformation industry. The awards also honored Milano Mayor, Giuseppe with the Leadership Award for his remarkable contributions to international urban innovation.
SCEWC abroad
The success of Smart City Expo has prompted the Barcelona-based event to grow with regional editions around the world. In 2025, SCEWC will launch Smart City Expo Kuala Lumpur (SCEKL) in Malaysia from September 17-19. This will be the first show ever organized in Southeast Asia.
SCEKL will join the list of edition abroad that in 2025 will include Smart City Expo Curitiba (May 25-27); Smart City Expo USA, held in New York on April 2-3; Smart City Expo Latam Congress in Puebla (Mexico) on June 10-12; Smart City Expo Santiago del Estero (Argentina) on June 25-26; a third consecutive edition in Colombia, in this case in Cartagena de Indias October 8-9; and Smart City Expo China, with dates yet to be confirmed. New editions will be announced shortly.
Smart City Expo World Congress will return to Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue for its fourteenth edition on November 4-6, 2025.
