The bidding process for the 11th edition of the European conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns (ESCT) is now open. All cities and regions are warmly invited to bid to host this flagship event.
The purpose of this key ICLEI Europe conference series is to share the most advanced approaches, tools and inspiring ideas for local transformation, to foster governance innovation, and to strengthen local value chains and assets. The series facilitates dialogue on local sustainability agendas across governance levels and with relevant stakeholders from business, NGOs and research.
The next European conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns builds on the success and tradition of European local governments to exchange views and experiences, and commit to advancing sustainability in Europe. It will run for a maximum of three days on-site, leaving open the possibility for pre-events and side events. The next host will join a list which includes previous host cities such as Aalborg (1994, 2004 and 2024), Lisbon (1996), Hanover (2000), Seville (2007), Dunkerque (2010), Geneva (2013), the Basque Country (2016), and Mannheim (2020).
The Platform brings together key policies on urban sustainability and offers a legacy to the previous conferences, amongst others through the launch of the Aalborg Charter, the Aalborg Commitments, the Basque Declaration, the Mannheim Message and the Aalborg Conditions.
The Aalborg Conditions (2024) reflect on 30 years of progress from the Aalborg Charter (1994) and Aalborg Commitments (2004), outlining the potential and needs of local governments for integrated climate and sustainability strategies across Europe. Outcomes of the European conferences on Sustainable Cities and Towns have been influencing political agendas and driving actual policies and urban transformation for more than three decades.
For more information: www.sustainablecities.eu.
Why host ESCT?
The host will be profiled before, during and after the event as a leader in urban sustainability and transformation. They will gain visibility and be brought into close discussion with peers, other actors that are crucial to transforming cities, and with European Commission leaders. They will furthermore have the opportunity to strengthen their leading role in the ICLEI network.
What are the key details?
The conference is tentatively planned for 2027 and will build on the success of the 10th ESCT Conference, which was hosted by ICLEI Member Aalborg (Denmark). The previous conference enabled the participation of attendees from multiple fields to discuss implementing transformative change in Europe.
The main result of the conference was the Aalborg Conditions (2024), a tripartite call-to-action for empowering European cities in the green transition. They urge national and EU institutions to support (1) shared governance - recognising cities as equal partners in multilevel decision-making; (2) integrated finance - providing long-term, coordinated and directly accessible funding to local authorities; and (3) a cohesive transition - ensuring the transformation is transparent, inclusive, socially just, and accompanied by education, capacity building and predictable frameworks.
What’s envisaged for the 11th edition?
The envisaged 11th edition of the conference will build on the outcomes of previous conferences, notably the latest Aalborg Conditions (2024). Specific objectives for the 11th conference edition need to be decided between ICLEI, the host city and relevant actors within the European policy context. These objectives should reflect topical issues of the current political debate in the time leading up to the event. A message or outcome document for the upcoming conference will need to be further discussed and considered.
Cities interested in hosting the conference are invited to contact events.europe@iclei.org to obtain the call for interest and the bidding package. Deadline for submission of bids is 16 February 2026.
For more information about the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Conference, visit the Sustainable Cities Platform.