Smart City Expo 2026 Barcelona: a practical guide

From 3 to 5 November 2026, Barcelona is once again the world capital of smart cities. Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) fills Fira Gran Via with governments, tech companies, investors and startups, and brings several parallel congresses with it. This guide covers what is confirmed and how to make the most of the week.

In short

• Dates and venue: 3–5 November 2026 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat), organised by Fira de Barcelona.
• Expected figures: over 1,000 exhibitors, over 25,000 attendees, 600 speakers and around 1,000 cities.
• Same week, same venue: Tomorrow.Mobility, Tomorrow.Blue Economy, HOWS Barcelona, Barcelona Deep Tech Summit and Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress.

Dates, venue and getting there

SCEWC 2026 runs from Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 November at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. This year’s motto is Urban Solutions, Real Impact, according to the official press release.

Public transport is the easiest option: metro line L9 Sud (Europa | Fira and Fira stops) and the FGC trains (Europa | Fira station) stop next to the entrances. L9 Sud also connects to the airport. Taxis and ride-hailing have queues at peak times.

Tickets and passes

The official site offers several pass types plus a dedicated public-sector pass that is requested separately. Check current prices and conditions on smartcityexpo.com before buying.

2026 themes and speakers

The congress programme is built around seven tracks: Enabling Technologies, Energy & Environment, Mobility, Governance & Economy, Living & Inclusion, Infrastructure & Building and Blue Economy. Housing gets special focus this year.

Names announced in the programme preview include:

• Nikolas Badminton, Chief Futurist at Futurist.com.
• Ayumi Moore Aoki, founder of Women in Tech Global.
• Bibiana Aído, UN Women Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean.
• Bilel Jamoussi, Deputy Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.
• Karl-Filip Coenegrachts, Executive Director of Open & Agile Smart Cities.

The exhibition floor includes companies such as Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Dell Technologies and Deutsche Telekom IoT, plus country and city pavilions.

Co-located events

Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress. Urban mobility, organised by Fira de Barcelona with EIT Urban Mobility, 3–5 November (POLIS).

Barcelona Deep Tech Summit. Organised by Barcelona Activa, also 3–5 November at Gran Via. It targets startups, researchers, investors and corporates, with three tracks: Augmented Human, Deep Intelligence and Corporate Frontier (Barcelona Activa, Biocat). If you care about university spin-offs and funding for science-based tech, this is the most useful stop of the week.

Tomorrow.Blue Economy, HOWS Barcelona and Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress round out the week: blue economy, housing and cybersecurity.

Who it is for

• Public sector: mayors, city officials and agencies looking for suppliers and real cases.
• Corporates: energy, mobility, telecom and infrastructure companies selling to governments.
• Founders: govtech, climate tech, mobility and applied-AI startups for urban services.
• Investors: infrastructure, climate and deep tech funds looking for traction with public buyers.

How to make the most of the week

1. Pick one main congress. With six events under one roof it is easy to drift. Decide whether your focus is SCEWC, mobility or deep tech.
2. Book meetings before you arrive. Public and corporate buyers fill their agendas days ahead.
3. Use the side events. Many useful conversations happen outside Fira: dinners, pavilion receptions and private evening gatherings.
4. Follow up within 48 hours. A specific message beats a generic LinkedIn invite.

What it means for Barcelona’s ecosystem

November packs public buyers, corporates and investors from around the world into a single week. For local startups it is a chance to sell without boarding a plane, and for the city it strengthens a calendar that already includes MWC and 4YFN in March. See the rest in our guide to finance, AI and startup events in Barcelona 2027.

DEXT FORCE: finance, AI and startups in Barcelona

Smart City Expo is about cities. DEXT FORCE is about money, investment and artificial intelligence: it is Barcelona’s finance, AI and startups congress, with the electronic music after party at sunset. And if your brand wants to bring founders and investors together in a private format, DEXT Meetings organises tailored gatherings.

Frequently asked questions

When and where is Smart City Expo World Congress 2026?

From 3 to 5 November 2026 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via, in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.

Which events run alongside Smart City Expo 2026?

Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress, Tomorrow.Blue Economy, HOWS Barcelona, Barcelona Deep Tech Summit and Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress, at the same venue on the same dates.

How much does a ticket cost?

It depends on the pass type, and there is a separate public-sector pass. Check current prices on smartcityexpo.com.