From April 27-29 in Madrid, Spain, Bloomberg CityLab will bring together more than 700 mayors, public policymakers, innovators and creatives to address the major challenges facing cities around the world, including artificial intelligence, housing and affordability, and the role of cities as bastions of democracy in an age of polarization.
Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute will bring together mayors, policymakers, and urban innovators from around the world at Bloomberg CityLab, taking place April 27-29 in Madrid, to strengthen global cooperation and share practical, city-led solutions across borders. At a time when international partnerships and cooperation are under strain, the summit will foster vital connections between cities, address shared urgent challenges, and promote bold, practical solutions that are shaping the future of cities—and the world.
“While national governments struggle to address global challenges and traditional partnerships weaken, cities are stepping up. They have always been the place where progress happens, and today strengthening them is not optional: it is urgent. Bloomberg CityLab provides the infrastructure cities need to connect across borders, collaborate quickly, and turn ambitious ideas into real change,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
“Mayors are delivering results: they are forging stronger ties with their communities and are tireless in their efforts to improve urban life. Bloomberg CityLab Madrid will showcase the critical role of municipal leaders in addressing both national and international challenges in the face of polarization, not through ideology, but through bold action. This event is about sharing what works and then accelerating it, so that local solutions can go further and faster,” said Bunmi Akinnusotu, Director of Urban Innovation at the Aspen Institute.
The main stage discussions will focus on critical issues such as the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence on urban economies, labor markets, and governance. Also prominent on this year’s agenda are emerging solutions to the housing and affordability crises, as well as the new approaches mayors are taking to rebuild trust in an era of polarization. These themes will be brought to life through panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, interactive small-group sessions, artistic presentations, data visualizations, and field visits around Madrid, with the participation of mayors, urban innovators, technology entrepreneurs, and other key stakeholders.
Among the first prominent speakers are Michael R. Bloomberg; Nadia Calviño, president of the European Investment Bank; Norman Foster, architect and founder of Foster + Partners; José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of Madrid; and Teresa Ribera, first executive vice-president for a Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition of the European Commission.
More than 100 city leaders will also participate in this year’s Mayors Innovation Studio on April 27, held as part of CityLab. Featuring Norman Foster and other global design leaders, the session will invite mayors to rethink design as one of the most powerful—and underutilized—tools of urban leadership. As drivers of design, mayors shape not only city skylines but also urban systems. The Studio will explore how design can be used more deliberately to advance key city priorities, from service delivery and economic opportunity to trust, resilience, and quality of life.
Also on April 27, during CityLab, more than 150 of the world’s leading municipal innovation leaders will gather to address a different but equally urgent question: how can governments improve their capacity to embrace new ideas? The session will focus on open innovation as a governance strategy, examining how city councils can elevate public problems to communities of potential solution providers—including entrepreneurs, local residents, academics, and civic technologists—and integrate those ideas into real policies and programs. The goal is to discover a more humble, open, and effective model of governance that broadens who can help solve public problems and delivers better outcomes for residents.
This year’s Bloomberg CityLab in Madrid is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partnership with the municipality, under the leadership of Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, as well as by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ expanding work to strengthen the capacity of local governments across Europe.
Confirmed attendees at the summit include mayors from cities in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and Latin America, representing more than 30 countries worldwide. The summit will be held in several iconic venues throughout the city, including the Teatro Real, the Real Teatro del Retiro, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and the historic Hotel Palace.
New speakers and topics will be announced in the coming weeks and published on the Bloomberg CityLab 2026 website.
Bloomberg CityLab was founded on the principle that the most important innovation is happening locally and that global impact can be achieved when cities share solutions. For more than a decade, CityLab summits have brought together the most influential mayors and leading voices from hundreds of cities around the world. These summits have generated actionable insights for attendees and garnered international headlines. Past CityLab conferences have been held in New York, Los Angeles, London, Miami, Paris, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Mexico City, and Amsterdam.
Media representatives are invited to apply for accreditation to attend the events on April 28 and 29. Press credentials must be confirmed in advance. For more information, please contact rebecca@bloomberg.org or jon.purves@aspeninstitute.org.
