The 2022 edition of the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) has closed with the participation of more than 20,000 visitors from 134 countries, almost 50% more than in 2021, bringing the platform to pre-pandemic figures.

SCEWC and the Tomorrow Mobility World Congress (TMWC) have seen significant growth, bringing together some of the leading experts in urban innovation, including architect Elizabeth Diller, expert in shaping citizen behavior through public spaces; Ron Finley, known as the gangsta gardener; Hannah Fry, a mathematician at University College London, who has been able to decipher the patterns of many activities in the city, including shopping, transport, crime, riots and terrorism; Kelly Larson, Director of Highway Safety and Drowning Prevention at Bloomberg Philanthropies; and Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General of POLIS.

Cities and mayors from five continents were also present at the event, Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kiev (Ukraine), who explained how digitization during the Russian invasion has allowed the Ukrainian capital to continue functioning and save lives. Among the cities represented at the event, Amsterdam, Atlanta, Barcelona, Berlin, Boston, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Doha, Frankfurt, New York, Paris, Quito, Reykjavik, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Seoul, Stockholm, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Vienna, to name a few.

Both events welcomed a total of 853 exhibitors, 89% more than in 2021, to showcase their latest projects and solutions. They also included leaders in the urban innovation and mobility sectors, such as Accenture, Amazon Web Services, BSM, Cisco, Dell & Nvidia, Deloi-tte, EDF, FCC Environment, Fiware, Honeywell, Mercedes, Microsoft, Moventia, Smart Ports: Piers of the Future, RACC, Renfe, Sorigué and Volvo.

As SCEWC director Ugo Valenti assured, "the 2022 edition has given new impetus to the ecosystem of urban transformation. After reaching the milestone of 8,000 million inhabitants in the world, and considering that more than half live in cities, it is clearer than ever that the fight for a better future must be an urban fight. This year's increase in participants, exhibitors and cities is also proof that the urban community is very committed to this goal and that Smart City Expo and Barcelona have become a place where we all come together every year to promote new initiatives and partnerships, to transform our cities and to achieve the common goal of becoming a place" .

For her part, as Maria Tsavachidis, President of the TMWC Advisory Board and CEO of EIT Urban Mobility stated, "Tomorrow.Mobility has brought together thousands of professionals working in the field of mobility, including large private mobility providers, start-ups. companies, academic institutions, policy makers and city representatives from around the world. Through innovative product demos, inspiring talks and networking sessions, among others, visitors were able to learn, inspire and connect to tackle critical urban mobility issues. The latest on global mobility challenges We have dealt with research and information, starting from the active mobility of citizens, with the concept of the 15-minute city, the impact of the energy crisis on the sector and the upcoming challenges in urban planning, air mobility and the exchange of mobility data".