XCity Balkans 2026
Cities of the future
May 28 - 29, 2026
Hotel Rila, Borovets
Hotel Rila, Borovets
Organizers
Exclusive media partner
XCity Balkans 2026:
Cities of the future
Where the vision and reality of tomorrow meet.
XCity Balkans 2026 is not just another conference. It is the most significant strategic platform in Southeast Europe dedicated to the evolution of the urban environment. In May 2026, Borovets will become the intellectual core of the Balkans, bringing together visionaries, state leaders and technology giants. Our mission is to transform the concept of the "smart city" from a futuristic idea into a working reality for the region. By sharing experiences, presenting real-world case studies, and building strategic partnerships, XCity 2026 lays the foundation for cleaner, safer, and more efficient cities for future generations.
XCity Balkans 2026 is not just another conference. It is the most significant strategic platform in Southeast Europe dedicated to the evolution of the urban environment. In May 2026, Borovets will become the intellectual core of the Balkans, bringing together visionaries, state leaders and technology giants. Our mission is to transform the concept of the "smart city" from a futuristic idea into a working reality for the region. By sharing experiences, presenting real-world case studies, and building strategic partnerships, XCity 2026 lays the foundation for cleaner, safer, and more efficient cities for future generations.
XCity Balkans 2026:
Cities of the future
Where the vision and reality of tomorrow meet.
XCity Balkans 2026 is not just another conference. It is the most significant strategic platform in Southeast Europe dedicated to the evolution of the urban environment. In June 2026, Sofia will become the intellectual core of the Balkans, bringing together visionaries, state leaders and technology giants. Our mission is to transform the concept of the "smart city" from a futuristic idea into a working reality for the region. By sharing experiences, presenting real-world case studies, and building strategic partnerships, XCity 2026 lays the foundation for cleaner, safer, and more efficient cities for future generations.
XCity Balkans 2026 is not just another conference. It is the most significant strategic platform in Southeast Europe dedicated to the evolution of the urban environment. In June 2026, Sofia will become the intellectual core of the Balkans, bringing together visionaries, state leaders and technology giants. Our mission is to transform the concept of the "smart city" from a futuristic idea into a working reality for the region. By sharing experiences, presenting real-world case studies, and building strategic partnerships, XCity 2026 lays the foundation for cleaner, safer, and more efficient cities for future generations.
Why attend
XCity Balkans 2026?
For Business and Investors
Position your brand among the regional market leaders. Meet with key investors and technology partners to scale your solutions across the Balkan region
For the Public Sector and Municipalities
Exchange first-hand experience with mayors of Balkan cities and experts. Discover working and financially sustainable models for implementing Smart City technologies that improve the lives of citizens
For Innovators and Startups
Pitch your ideas to a high-profile audience and take part in dedicated networking sessions. Find your next big client or partner among the delegates attending.
The first impulse of a larger vision
XCity 2024 launched the idea of smart and sustainable Balkan cities, bringing together leaders, experts and innovators in the city of Plovdiv. This was the starting point of a mission that turned into XCity Balkans 2026 — a strategic platform with a regional scope and a broader perspective
The Smart Cities Agenda:
Global Issues, Local Solutions
Digital ecosystem and AI governance
Integrating artificial intelligence and Big Data into urban processes to achieve maximum administrative efficiency and automated services for citizens.
Energy Independence and Sustainability
Strategies for carbon neutrality, implementation of renewable energy solutions and energy efficiency in the building stock of cities of the future.
Smart Mobility and Infrastructure
Development of integrated urban transport, autonomous systems and charging networks, optimizing traffic in densely populated areas.
Security and Cyber Protection of the City
Protection of critical urban infrastructure and blockchain technologies to ensure the security of personal data and public assets.
Circular Economy and Resource Management
Innovative systems for waste management, water purification and transforming the urban environment into a self-sustaining system.
The human factor in Smart City
Urban environment design with a focus on quality of life, healthcare, and active citizen participation in governance through digital platforms.
Speakers & Special Guests
Meet leading experts, practitioners and local government representatives who will share innovative ideas and real-world examples of sustainable urban development. We understand that personalities make the event – so expect confirmed names soon.
Metodi Baykushev
Mayor of Blagoevgrad MunicipalityКмет на Община Благоевград
Boban Mančev
Assisting Mayor for economic developments and investments, City of Nis, Republic of Serbia
Svetoslav Kolev
Deputy Mayor Finance, Budget and Economy, Municipality of Stara Zagora
Donka Mihaylova
Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Municipal Administration of the Republic of Bulgaria and Mayor of Troyan
Dobrin Ivanov
Executive Director of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association /BICA/
Angel Dzhorgov
Mayor of Samokov Municipality
Eng. Petar Kostov
Deputy Mayor of Samokov Municipality and Head of the Construction, Green Systems, and Transport Department
Deputy Mayor Veneta Galeva
Head of the Culture, Education, Sports, Youth and Social Activities, Healthcare and Tourism Department
Nikolay Raykovski
Deputy Mayor of Troyan Municipality for “Spatial Development, Construction, Planning and Projects”
Petar Ivanov
Executive Director of Burgas Industrial and Logistics Park
Angel Tanev
Executive Director of “National Company Industrial Zones” EAD
Csaba Pesti
CEO of MET3R
Eng. Plamen Panchev
Executive Director of Thrace Economic Zone /TEZ/
Arch. Lyubomir Stanislavov
Founder, manager and chief architect of SAT – Es Architectural Team, member of KRIB
Prof. Dr. Krasimira Staneva
MSc, MPH, Rector of Varna University of Management, Member of the Board of Directors of Montbant AD
Dilyana Yakova
Manager “Regulations and Sustainability”, Philip Morris Bulgaria
Sotir Nemov
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Samokov Regional Development Council and entrepreneur
Yordan Stoyanov
Bulgarian Intelligent Transport System Association (BITSA)
Vladimir Tomov
Member of the Board and Chairman of the Investment Council at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Gergana Boneva
Corporate Affairs Associate JTI Bulgaria
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Agata Manolova
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Agata Manolova is Dean of the Faculty of Telecommunications at TU-Sofia and a researcher
Prof. Desislava Antonova-Petrova
Research Group Lead, PhD, GATE Institute
Joro Penchev
Policy Lead and Digital Development, Team Sofia
Nevena Stoyanova
Economic and Trade Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Hungary
Hristo Hristov
Sales and Operations Manager, TopMobility
Denitsa Mincheva
CFO, Soriko
Irena Mincheva
Manager, Soriko
Gerasim Y. Slavov
Marketing and Communications, Innovation Map
Elian Manev
R&D Director, Soriko
Asen Asenov
Managing Partner at NIS2U GmbH Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Kristina Todorova
Technical Program Manager at ICT Cluster Bulgaria
Nadya Gogova
Publisher and Managing Partner, Enterprise Magazine
Preslav Bobev
Managing Partner, IMG Connect
Lyubomir Atanasov
Managing Partner, RED Group Capital
Program
*The organizers reserve the right to change the program. XCity Balkans 2026 – “Cities of the Future”
12:00 – 13:00
Registration
13:00 – 13:15
Official representatives of the Government of Bulgaria
Angel Dzhorgov, Mayor of Samokov Municipality
Alexander Pulev, Minister of Economy, Investments and Industry (to be confirmed)
Nadya Gogova, Publisher and Managing Partner, Enterprise Magazine
13:15 – 14:15
Balkan cities – vision for cities of the future
Digital platform for regional cooperation and data exchange between Balkan cities
Perspectives and opportunities for intelligent transport interconnection of cities in Southeastern Europe
Angel Dzhorgov, Mayor of Samokov Municipality
Boban Mančev, Assisting Mayor for economic developments and investments, City of Nis, Republic of Serbia
József Gaál, Deputy Mayor of Kecskemét, Hungary, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bács-Kiskun County
Metodi Baykushev, Mayor of Blagoevgrad Municipality
Edirne Municipality (pending confirmation), Tekirdag Municipality (pending confirmation), Corlu Municipality (pending confirmation)
14:15 – 14:45
Устойчива градска среда и климат
Sustainable development of cities – with care for the future
Guest panelists: representative of JTI Bulgaria, representative of Philip Morris
Gergana Boneva, Corporate Affairs Associate JTI Bulgaria
Dilyana Yakova, Manager, Regulatory and Sustainable Development, Philip Morris Bulgaria
14:45 – 15:15
Coffee break and networking
15:15 –15:45
Waste as part of the future of cities: smart systems, fair fees and a cleaner urban environment
Waste management as a key part of the infrastructure of the modern city
Underground container systems. How digital control and good planning can make urban environments cleaner, more efficient, and tidier.
The "polluter pays" principle - a need for a fairer system and real change in the behavior of citizens and businesses
Denitsa Mincheva, Financial Director, Soriko
Irena Mincheva, Manager, Soriko
Elian Manev, R&D Director, Soriko
15:45 –16:30
Energy efficiency, WEI, adaptation to climate
Smart Cities and Energy Communities: The New Urban Infrastructure – Nevena Stoyanova
Smart meters, IoT, energy platforms – Asen Asenov
Smart Cities and Energy Communities: The New Urban Infrastructure
Asen Asenov, Managing Partner at NIS2U GmbH Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Nevena Stoyanova – Economic and Trade Counselor at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Hungary
16:30 – 17:15
Smart City & digital transformation
Digital services, AI, data, cybersecurity
Prof. Desislava Antonova-Petrova, Research Group Lead, PhD, GATE Institute
Sotir Nemov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Samokov Regional Development Council and entrepreneur
17:15 – 18:00
Real projects from Balkan cities
Successful examples from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Hungary
Csaba Pesti, CEO of MET3R
19:00 - 21:00
Official networking cocktail
09:00 – 09:30
Registration and coffee
09:30 – 10:30
Partnership for Sustainable Urban Development
Models of interaction between community, business and technological companies
Moderator: Christina Todorova, Technical Program Manager, ICT Cluster Bulgaria
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Agata Manolova is Dean of the Faculty of Telecommunications at TU-Sofia and a researcher
Donka Mihaylova, Mayor of Troyan, Deputy Chairman of the Board, National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (NAMB)
Gerasim Y. Slavov, Marketing & Communications, Innovation Map
Nikolay Raykovski, Deputy Mayor of Troyan Municipality for "Spatial Development, Construction, Planning and Projects"
Svetoslav Kolev, Deputy Mayor Finance, Budget and Economy, Municipality of Stara Zagora
10:30 – 11:15
Economic development, investment and intelligent infrastructure
Industrial zones
Innovation Ecosystems
Публично частни партньорства
Angel Tanev, Executive Director at “National Company of Industrial Zones” EAD
Petar Ivanov, Executive Director of the Industrial and Logistics Park Burgas
Eng. Plamen Panchev Executive Director of Trakia Economic Zone /TIZ/
Dobrin Ivanov, Executive Director of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association /BICA/
11:15 - 11:45
The Real Story: AI in the Public Sector
How legal is it and how legal should it be?
Is policy slop a real thing?
Procurement in the age of AI
The employment crisis
Joro Penchev, Policy Lead and Digital Development, Sofia Team
11:45 - 12:15
Coffee break and networking
12:15 - 13:15
Urban mobility and infrastructure
Transport, smart infrastructure, sustainable solutions
Yordan Stoyanov, Bulgarian Intelligent Transport System Association (BITSA)
Valentin Iliev, CEO, Parking Project
Eng. Petar Kostov, Deputy Mayor of Samokov Municipality and Head of the "Construction, Green Systems and Transport" Department
Arch. Lyubomir Stanislavov, Founder, Manager and Chief Architect of SAT – Es Architectural Team, member of KRIB
Hristo Hristov, Sales and Operations Manager, Top Mobility
13:15 - 14:15
Lunch break and networking
14:15 - 15:15
Cities of the future for people
Education, healthcare, social services
Tourism, culture and city brand
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marina Stefanova, Director of the Master's Program "Responsible and Sustainable Management" at the Faculty of Economics, Director of ESG Lab and ESG Academy
Chairman of the Association of Sustainability Specialists /ASU/
Veneta Galeva, Deputy Mayor of Samokov Municipality, Head of the Department of Culture, Education, Sports, Youth and Social Activities, Healthcare and Tourism
Prof. Dr. Krasimira Staneva, MSc, MPH, Rector of Varna University of Management, Member of the Board of Directors of Montbant AD
15:15 - 15:45
Financing the cities of the future
Main and accessible European programs and financial instruments
Innovative financial instruments and blended finance
Basic requirements for applying and implementing projects
Opportunities for combining European funds and private/public local investments in projects
Representative of the European Commission
Representative of the Fund of Funds
Vladimir Tomov, Member of the Board and Chairman of the Investment Council at the BCCI
15:45 - 16:00
Official closing and announcement of XCity Balkans 2027 – “Cities of the Future”
Strategic partners
and institutional support
Main sponsor
Sponsor
Strategic partner
Partner
Tickets
Standard
- Two-day access
- Coffee breaks
- Networking and exhibition area
€99 / 193.63 lv
excluding VAT
Premium
- Two-day access
- Coffee breaks
- Networking and exhibition area
- Premium Business Cocktail
€169 / 330.54 lv
excluding VAT
Location
Hotel Rila, Borovets
Hotel Rila is an iconic place that provides the perfect atmosphere for innovation and knowledge sharing amidst nature.
- 70 km from Sofia
- Secure parking
- Preferential prices for overnight stays
The digital transformation of the Balkans starts here.
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