The Smart City Expo World Congress, the world’s largest international conference and exhibition on smart cities, was held in Barcelona, Spain, from November 15 to 17.　The event was organized in three categories: “Congress,” “Expo,” and “Side Events & Activities,” and was also held in conjunction with the “Mobility Exhibition. More than 20,000 visitors from over 130 countries and regions attended, with over 400 speakers and more than 800 exhibitors.

The City of Yokohama has been a participant in the World Smart City Awards since 2011 when it received the “World Smart City Award” in the city category. At this year’s conference, the Director of the International Bureau of Yokohama City spoke at the Congress session about the topic “Cities Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges”. At the Expo, a booth was set up in the Japan Pavilion, where the European Office’s Chief Representative and others introduced the city’s smart city-related policies and initiatives for decarbonization through public-private partnerships.