Dubai to Host World's Largest Museum Conference

The UAE has won the bid to host the 27th International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference 2025 in Dubai under the theme 'The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities’ which is set to be the World's Largest Museum Conference.

The new global achievement is set to further strengthen the UAE’s leading position as the capital of creativity and innovation across various fields.

فوز دبي باستضافة أكبر مؤتمر للمتاحف في العالم آيكوم2025 بحضور 119 دولة تغطي 20 ألف متحف عالمي يعطي دفعة قوية لقطاع الثقافة بالدولة.متاحفنا العالمية في عاصمتنا الحبيبة ومتاحفنا الوطنية على امتداد كافة إمارات الدولة ستقود النقاش العالمي حول مستقبل المتاحف بهذا المؤتمر الدولي الضخم

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) November 20, 2021

Dubai's victory came following the voting round that was held at the meeting of ICOM's executive committee on 18th and 19th November, with the participation of over 130 members. Dubai's bid succeeded in obtaining 68 votes, beating Sweden's Stockholm (34 votes), and Russia's Kazan (20 votes).

The result of the vote in favour of the UAE's bid file, surpassing those of Sweden and Russia, makes Dubai the first city in the Middle East and North Africa to organise this prestigious international conference since ICOM's establishment in 1946.

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, tweeted, "Dubai wins the hosting of the largest global conference for museums, ICOM 2025. More than 4,000 professionals from 119 countries will gather to discuss one topic, 'The Future of Museums' in the city of the future, Dubai. "

ICOM General Conference is held once every three years. Its 25th edition was held in 2019 in Kyoto, Japan, and the 26th edition is scheduled to be held in Prague, Czech Republic in 2022.