Expo City Dubai wins at GovMedia Conference & Awards 2026
Expo City convened the largest global gathering of mayors and established a city-led collaboration framework.
Expo City Dubai won the United Arab Emirates Outreach Project of the Year - Urban Development in the GovMedia Conference & Awards 2026. It secured the award for hosting the 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors' Forum.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, Expo City Dubai brought one of the world's longest-running city leadership platforms to the Middle East for the first time in the summit's history.
On the back of its global outreach effort that engaged over 1,000 cities across six continents, Expo City Dubai convened 169 mayors, more than 380 city leaders, and over 1,500 delegates from 356 cities across six continents, alongside 194 speakers from government, business, academia, and international institutions. It also published its Urban Readiness Report in partnership with YouGov, which highlighted the operating realities of cities worldwide and shaped the summit’s priorities.
A key feature of the summit was the City Hall Programme, where cities presented investment-ready urban projects and procurement pipelines worth more than US$65b. The summit also featured a dedicated Government of Dubai exhibition showcasing the emirate's urban planning journey and positioning Dubai as a major contributor to knowledge within global urban discourse.
Expo City Dubai supported more than 100 structured business-to-business and business-to-government meetings. The summit also provided the stage for several city-to-city MoUs, including agreements between Dubai and Brisbane and between Dubai and Tokyo. The agreements strengthened cooperation across areas including infrastructure, transport, urban resilience, digital transformation, urban governance, tourism, quality of life and talent attraction.
GovMedia Conference & Awards gives recognition to the trends and best practices that transform the public sector in the Asia Pacific. The awards programme promotes excellence and provides a platform for exemplary government initiatives.
The GovMedia Conference & Awards is presented by GovMedia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2027 awards programme and be recognised for your organisation's government projects and initiatives, please contact Marni Marco at +(65) 3158 1386 and [email protected].
