New York, NY and Madrid, Spain, April 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Bloomberg CityLab, the preeminent global cities summit organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with the Aspen Institute, announced new speakers, programming, and participants for its event in Madrid, Spain, from April 27 – April 29, 2026. The full agenda is available here.
As global alliances strain, local leaders aren’t waiting — they’re stepping up. Across borders, mayors are forming practical alliances and advancing solutions in real time. At a moment when global cooperation is challenged, cities are where collaboration still functions — where governments, communities, and partners come together to make progress in people’s daily lives — with solutions then shared globally. More than half the world’s population lives in cities, making them the clearest test of whether we can still solve problems together at scale.
Against this backdrop, Bloomberg CityLab 2026 will convene more than 1,000 mayors and leading policymakers, innovators, and creatives in Madrid. Together, they will examine how leaders across Europe and around the world are tackling what’s in front of them — accelerating AI to improve services, preparing workers for what’s next, responding to rising heat, expanding housing supply, and bringing people back into public life. Through dynamic conversations, interactive sessions, and experiences across Madrid, the summit will examine what is taking hold, where progress is being made, and the officials making it happen.
Previously announced speakers include Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mayor of New York City (2002-2013); Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank and Norman Foster, Architect and Founder of Foster + Partners.
Newly announced speakers include:
- Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Government of Spain
- Global Mayors Including:
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- José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, Spain
- Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, Spain
- Francisco de la Torre Prados, Mayor of Málaga, Spain
- Sadiq Khan Mayor of London, U.K.
- Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon, Portugal
- Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw, Poland
- Brandon Scott, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A.
- Carlos Fernando Galán, Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia
- Florence Namayanja, Mayor of Masaka City, Uganda
- Manuel de Araújo, Mayor of Quelimane, Mozambique
- Soichiro Takashima, Mayor of Fukuoka, Japan
- Tatsuo Igarashi, Mayor of Tsukuba, Japan
- Victor Ma Regis Sotto, Mayor of Pasig, Philippines
- Adriana García Jordán, Broadcaster for Radio Nacional de España
- Aitor Hernández-Morales, Senior Reporter and News Editor for POLITICO
- Alice Park, Senior Health Correspondent for TIME
- Anna Bedmar, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Habitacion.com
- Cristina Iglesias, Artist Daniel Ramot, Co-Founder and CEO of Via Transportation
- Dasha Niarchos, Founder and CEO of Ray
- Jill Sonke, US Cultural Policy Fellow and Co-Director of EpiArts Lab at University of Florida
- Elena Parras Durán, Founder and CEO of Movimento 55+ Associação
- Es Devlin, Artist
- Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, France (2014-2026)
- Francisco Fullana, Violinist Francine Lacqua, Anchor for Bloomberg News
- Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, Hosts of Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast
- Jenn White, Host of “1A” on NPR
- Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London
- Okela Douglas-Norgrove, Founder and CEO of Sister System
- Stephanie Mehta, CEO and Chief Content Officer for Mansueto Ventures
- Yasmin Green, CEO of Jigsaw
The summit will be hosted at various notable venues throughout the city, including Teatro Real, Real Teatro de Retiro, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and the historic Palace hotel. Participants will also experience Madrid through field visits showcasing some of the city’s most innovative municipal projects — from the playful to the practical. Attendees may choose to visit Madrid Río, a linear park that was created by burying a major highway and now stretches along the Manzanares River; CaixaForum, a former power station that has been transformed into a cultural center; Madrid in Game, an incubator that provides training and support to entrepreneurs and developers to position the city a leader in the field of video games; or Valdemingómez Technology Park, a facility where the city converts urban waste into enough energy to power 550 buses and 35,000 homes.
Among the summit’s confirmed attendees are 102 mayors from 37 countries across six continents including the United States.
Global mayors attending include those from the cities of: As-Salt, Jordan; Banjul, Gambia; Barcelona, Spain; Beira, Mozambique; Belfast, United Kingdom; Benin, Nigeria; Bogotá, Colombia; Bologna, Italy; Bratislava, Slovakia; Bucharest, Romania; Budapest, Hungary; Cape Town, South Africa; Dublin, Ireland; Durrës, Albania; Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Eshkol, Israel; Fez, Morocco; Fukuoka, Japan; Ghaziabad, India; Greater Manchester, United Kingdom; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Hobart, Australia; Izmir, Turkey; Kajiado, Kenya; Kitchener, Canada; Kitwe, Zambia; Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Liverpool City Region, United Kingdom; Lo Barnechea, Chile; London, United Kingdom; Luján de Cuyo, Argentina; Lusaka, Zambia; Madrid, Spain; Maipú, Chile; Málaga, Spain; Masaka, Uganda; Matosinhos, Portugal; Medellín, Colombia; Mombasa, Kenya; Monrovia, Liberia; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nansana, Uganda; Netanya, Israel; Panama City, Panama; Pasig, Philippines; Quebec, Canada; Quelimane, Mozambique; Quito, Ecuador; Renca, Chile; Rosario, Argentina; San Isidro, Argentina; San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; South Yorkshire, United Kingdom; Stockholm, Sweden; Tres de Febrero, Argentina; Tsukuba, Japan; Valencia, Spain; Vantaa, Finland; Visakhapatnam, India; Warsaw, Poland; Zagreb, Croatia; and Zaragoza, Spain.
From the United States, among those confirmed to attend are the mayors of: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Anchorage, Alaska; Baltimore, Maryland; Beaverton, Oregon; Boise, Idaho; Boulder, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbia, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; Dallas, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; Dearborn, Michigan; Durham, North Carolina; Hampton, Virginia; Kansas City, Missouri; Lansing, Michigan; Long Beach, California; Madison, Wisconsin; Memphis, Tennessee; Montgomery, Alabama; Mount Vernon, New York; New Bedford, Massachusetts; Newport News, Virginia; Oakland, California; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Redmond, Washington; Rochester, Minnesota; Rochester, New York; San Antonio, Texas; Savannah, Georgia; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Tampa, Florida; Washington, D.C; and West Sacramento, California.
For over a decade, CityLab summits have convened the most influential mayors and voices from hundreds of cities worldwide. Past CityLab conferences have been hosted in New York, Los Angeles, London, Miami, Paris, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Mexico City, and Amsterdam.
Members of the media must apply to register to attend. Media credentials must be confirmed in advance. For more information, please contact rebeccac@bloomberg.org, sam@bloomberg.org, and jon.purves@aspeninstitute.org.
About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2025, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $4.3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.
About the Aspen Institute:
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, please visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
Jon Purves The Aspen Institute jon.purves@aspeninstitute.org Rebecca Carriero Bloomberg Philanthropies rebeccac@bloomberg.org Sam Fuld Bloomberg Philanthropies sam@bloomberg.org
