Barcelona, a pioneer in the smart cities, prepares to host the leading Smart City Expo World Congress 2023

Barcelona's Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), the leading international event on cities and smart urban solutions, is preparing next week to become the stage where global organizations will discuss the challenges facing the sector in the coming years.

From November 7 to 9, under the theme "Welcome to the New Urban Era", the exhibition and congress will see a 55% growth in exhibition space and a 20% increase in attendance, reaching more than 1,000 exhibitors, 25,000 professional visitors and representatives from more than 800 cities and 140 countries, making the upcoming edition the largest yet.

The congress will showcase innovative urban solutions and projects focusing on strategies to transform today's metropolises into more sustainable, efficient and liveable spaces.

Barcelona, the third smart city in the world and the first in Europe (Juniper Research, 2022), is the unique scenario in which this international event will take place. The capital of Catalonia has a powerful ICT sector that connects, facilitates and empowers all the various smart solutions. Also recognized as the Mobile World Capital, Barcelona has become a testing ground for smart city solutions.

Key companies at the Smart City Expo World Congress exhibition floor

The Smart City Expo World Congress will feature a fully booked exhibition floor with companies such as AWS, Aramco, Axis, Cisco, Dassault Systemes, Dell, Deloitte, FCC, Honeywell, Microsoft, Nvidia, PWC, Roshn, Siemens, Smart Ports: Piers of the Future, and Veolia.

The event will also feature pavilions from countries and cities around the world, including Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Nordics, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

The conference program will be divided into eight main tracks during the three-day congress: Enabling Technologies, Energy & Environment, Mobility, Governance, Living & Inclusion, Economy, Infrastructure & Buildings, Safety & Security, and Blue Economy.

Global innovation hub

In addition, Tomorrow.Building, Tomorrow.Mobility, Tomorrow.BlueEconomy - focusing on the opportunities of the Blue Economy - and PUZZLE X will be held alongside the SCEWC to strengthen the role of the event and Barcelona as a global hub for smart solutions to the challenges facing today's cities.

Participation of Catalonia Trade & Investment in the Smart City Expo World Congress

ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, as part of the Government of Catalonia, is accompanying 19 companies and technology centers at the Catalonia Stand (Hall 2, D-60). These Catalan companies represent a wide range of industries and expertise, from engineering and energy solutions to data analytics and security systems. Download the Catalogue of Catalan companies at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2023 (.PDF document).

The Catalonia Stand also includes a “quantum demo” by the Institute of Photonics Sciences (ICFO), a Catalan technology center recognized worldwide and key agent of the European quantum community.

On the other hand, ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) are organizing the Smart Cities Challenges, the leading networking events to promote collaboration between companies, intermediaries and local and international institutions. Participants can register for the Smart Cities Challenges, create their profile and schedule virtual or face-to-face meetings for the Smart City Expo World Congress.