Bloomberg CityLab 2026

Madrid, Spain
April 27-29, 2026

Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute hosted the 12th Bloomberg CityLab, the preeminent global cities summit, in Madrid, Spain on April 27 – April 29, 2026. The summit spurred vital city-to-city connections, confront urgent shared challenges, and advance bold, practical solutions shaping the future of cities — and the world.

Mainstage conversations focused on critical issues like the accelerating impact of AI on urban economies, labor markets, and governance. Also prominent in this year’s agenda were discussions on emerging solutions to housing and affordability crises, as well as new approaches mayors are taking to rebuild trust in an age of polarization.

These topics were brought to life through panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, interactive breakout sessions, artistic performances, data visualizations, and field trips across Madrid featuring mayors, city innovators, tech entrepreneurs, and more.

MORE INFORMATION:

Speakers
Agenda
Press

Watch Bloomberg CityLab 2026:

Tuesday, April 28

2 pm CET | 8 am EDT

Wednesday, April 29

9 am CET | 3 am EDT

1:30 pm CET | 7:30 am EDT

Bringing Mayors Together to Strengthen Cooperation

Bloomberg CityLab was founded on the principle that the most important innovation is happening at the local level and spreads when cities share solutions.

For over a decade, Bloomberg CityLab summits have crossed the globe, gathering the most influential leaders and voices from cities worldwide. Summits have generated tangible takeaways for attendees, with past conferences hosted in New York, Los Angeles, London, Miami, Paris, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Amsterdam, and Mexico City.

Bloomberg Philanthropies and Madrid

Bloomberg CityLab 2026 in Madrid builds on Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partnership with the municipality under Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ expanding work to strengthen local government capacity across Europe. These efforts are part of the government innovation initiatives Bloomberg Philanthropies leads in hundreds of city halls around the world, many of whose mayors and top officials convened in Madrid for the event.