Twenty-nine years of challenges overcome, milestones reached, an international dimension and a growth strategy that has led the event to become a global benchmark for the green, blue and circular economy.
Ecomondo closes its 29th edition today at Rimini Expo Centre with positive results, inviting us to look to the future and its 30th anniversary, which will be celebrated in 2027: a 1% increase in domestic visitors, a 14% rise in international visitors, over 1,800 exhibiting brands, of which 21% came from abroad, and 171,000 m2 of exhibition space. 651 accredited journalists, 15% of whom were from abroad.
From Tuesday 3rd November until today, Italian Exhibition Group’s international event transformed the Expo Centre into the focal point of the ecological transition, where environmental policies were translated into innovative solutions and technologies for industries and for more resilient, circular and competitive economic systems. In the Innovation District, 20 innovative start-ups and SMEs presented cutting-edge projects and solutions to speed up the ecological transition and circular economy development.
ECOMONDO BEYOND THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN BORDERS
With 1,300 hosted buyers and delegations involved in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Italian Trade Agency for the promotion and internationalisation of Italian companies abroad (ICE), and 14 international collectives from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Germany, Norway, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland, Ecomondo 2026 has further expanded its international reach.
For the first time in its history, the event hosted a foreign country: Mexico, one of Latin America’s most promising economies, which is reshaping its development model around the principles of the circular economy. This partnership will be further strengthened with the next edition of Ecomondo Mexico, scheduled to take place from 20th to 22nd April 2027 at Expo Guadalajara.
Africa was once again at the centre of Ecomondo’s internationalisation strategies this year with the launch of the Africa Investment HUB to encourage business and networking with associations across the continent.
In total, Ecomondo facilitated meetings between companies, institutions, associations, researchers and innovators, and favoured the exchange of technology, knowledge and skills through over 10,000 business matchmaking sessions.
A new feature at this 2026 edition was the arrival of a delegation of 11 Brazilian start-ups operating in the agri-food sector.
POLICIES, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION FOR THE GREEN TRANSITION
200 events, 70 of which organised by the International Technical Scientific Committee, chaired by professor Fabio Fava, brought European policies, research and innovation to the forefront of the debate at Ecomondo for the main industrial sectors, promoting a vision of an ecological transition that, rather than purely environmental aspects, also translates into a concrete transformation of production systems by combining sustainability, growth and competitiveness.
Resource efficiency – from textiles to water, plastics, packaging, right through to paper recycling –, sustainable finance, the blue economy, healthy and circular cities, bioenergy and the regenerative bioeconomy were at the heart of the programme, alongside in-depth discussions on developments in the European regulatory framework, climate change and adaptation, ecosystem restoration and international cooperation in the Mediterranean basin and Africa with the sixth edition of the Africa Green Growth Forum, organised in collaboration with the Task Force for the Implementation of the Presidential Office’s Mattei Plan, Confindustria Assafrica & Mediterraneo and RES4Africa.
The 15th edition of the States General of the Green Economy, organised at Ecomondo by the Foundation for Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and under the patronage of the European Commission and the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, provided an overview of the strategic issues facing the green economy in Italy and offered a glimpse of the wider world, particularly China, the USA, Europe and Africa. The first plenary session, held on the opening day of the event with the presentation of the 2026 State of the Green Economy Report, outlined a positive trend for Italy, albeit with some complexities, while the international session on Wednesday 4th November, in collaboration with Italy for Climate, highlighted how the road to a global green economy is an obstacle course, where easy descents alternate with arduous uphill climbs.
ECOMONDO WILL BE BACK AT ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP’S RIMINI EXPO CENTRE FROM 9TH TO 12TH NOVEMBER 2027 WITH AN EDITION FULL OF NEW FEATURES TO CELEBRATE ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY.