365 days to Expo 2027: Belgrade enters a year that will change its history
Today marks the beginning of the final 365 days until the opening of specialised Expo 2027 Belgrade, the event that will place Serbia at the center of international attention next year. Exactly one year before the start of the largest global event ever organized by the country, Belgrade is entering the final phase of preparations for the specialised exhibition that will, over the course of 93 days, bring together 137 international participants, more than 4 million visitors, and over 8,000 programs in the fields of culture, sports, music, innovation, and technology, under the theme “Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All”.
Starting today, applications for volunteering at specialised Expo 2027 Belgrade are officially open. According to estimates, more than 20,000 volunteers will pass through the gates of the largest international event during its 93-day duration. This will be the largest volunteer program ever organized not only in Serbia, but in the entire Western Balkans region. The program will be open to all adults from Serbia, the region, and around the world, and all interested candidates can find information on how to apply starting today on the official Expo 2027 website. The website contains a link to the volunteer platform, where future volunteers will be able to apply for one of the 48 available positions.
All works related to the preparation of the specialised exhibition are progressing according to schedule. The handover of pavilion keys to international participants is planned by December 1, 2026, while works on the EXPO Village are nearing completion, alongside the construction of supporting infrastructure, including new roads and other infrastructure projects that will permanently transform this part of Belgrade.
Parallel to the construction of the complex in Surčin, preparations are underway for the program content, whose first concrete outlines citizens will be able to see at the beginning of autumn. In this context, Belgrade will host some of the world’s largest international technology and innovation events in the year ahead, including GITEX, one of the world’s most influential tech and startup fairs, further positioning Serbia on the map of Europe’s emerging technology hubs.
Serbia is pushing boundaries - Expo 2027 Belgrade will be 100% legacy-driven. Every segment of the project will have a long-term function even after the end of the specialised exhibition. The Expo 2027 master plan, encompassing the thematic area, the international participants’ area, and the best practices and corporate content area, will be fully utilized beyond the 93 days of the event itself. The legacy of Expo 2027 will include the new Belgrade Fair, an Auditorium, the International Play Forum, learning and creativity centers, schools and preschool institutions, sports halls, museum spaces, residential and hotel complexes, retail facilities, playgrounds, and new public spaces. In this way, Belgrade and Serbia will, for the first time, gain the infrastructure and capacities needed to host future
global mega-events, while also creating an entirely new urban area dedicated to living, education, culture, innovation, and international cooperation.
Belgrade is already entering the rhythm of the world’s biggest events. Concerts by Eros Ramazzotti, Lenny Kravitz, and Deep Purple, as well as the Cirque du Soleil spectacle, represent an introduction to the atmosphere Belgrade will experience during Expo 2027. Even today, the city is becoming a major international stage where music, art, entertainment, innovation, and global audiences come together, while the coming year will bring content and events unlike anything this part of Europe has hosted before.
For the first time in history, an event of this scale is coming to Southeast Europe, at a moment when the world is searching for new meeting points, new centers of ideas, and new spaces for international connection. Expo 2027 Belgrade represents an opportunity for Serbia to position itself among the global destinations of the future, on the map of cities where technology, culture, business, creative industries, and international dialogue intersect. The coming year will be a period in which Belgrade grows into one of the world’s most dynamic global meeting points, with the potential to permanently change the way the international public perceives the region and to open a new chapter in Serbia’s development on the global stage.