Expo 2027 Belgrade Moves into Fit-Out Phase on Play for Humanity Theme

Expo 2027 Belgrade has reached a new stage of preparation, because construction of the exhibition complex is giving way to technical and fit-out work by the participating countries. The specialised Expo will run from 15 May to 15 August 2027 on a 25-hectare site in Surčin, under the theme ‘Play for Humanity, Sport and Music for All’. A technical meeting marked the point at which countries began moving from planning towards preparing their own pavilions and programmes on site.

That theme shapes everything planned for the 93-day run, and expo CEO Danilo Jerinić describes the ambition in broad terms. “Expo 2027 Belgrade will be a place where people, ideas and cultures come together to explore how play, in all its forms, can help us build a more resilient, united and joyful world,” he says. The organiser groups the experiences under three strands called Power of Play, Play for Progress and Play Together. These strands will explore play’s connections with resilience and sustainability, innovation and imagination, and active society and peace, which gives the programme a changing rhythm as the months pass.

The sport and music programmes give the theme a physical form on the site. A planned Sport for All programme will use a hybrid pitch that combines elements of different sports and children’s games, and it will run in two strands, ‘World Games’ and ‘Ambassadors of Play’. Organisers are also planning sports and play spaces across the wider site. The music programme will be designed around a flexible stage and auditorium, with interactive sound installations, collective music-making and performances from traditional and contemporary musicians.

Around these two programmes, the organiser expects a wider mix of sporting activities, cultural performances, concerts, workshops, innovation showcases and business conferences. The national pavilions will carry much of that variety, since each country brings its own interpretation of the theme, culture, ideas and innovations. Expo Commissioner Jagoda Lazarević said the pavilions would allow visitors to “travel around the world in a single day”. The organiser forecasts more than four million visitors and more than 8,000 events and activities.

Read more:

• Stefano Boeri Architetti Wins Loco Park Masterplan for Tbilisi Locomotive Factory
• BIG’s Dubai Masterplan Turns Iconic Racecourse into a Pedestrian Paradise
• Yves du Manoir Stadium | OLGGA architectes

The exhibition itself sits inside a larger district development in Surčin. The wider masterplan includes a 52,000-seat National Stadium and an aquatic centre, and it is meant to keep all of the site and its infrastructure in active use after the Expo closes. The proposed permanent facilities are listed below.

• A new Belgrade Fairground
• An auditorium and an Expo museum
• An International Play Forum
• A Centre for Innovation and Creativity
• A National Centre for the Promotion of Sport and Physical Activity
• A National Centre for Musical Innovation

The wider development will also include schools, preschools, sports halls, homes, a hotel, retail, playgrounds and public spaces. Delivery of that plan appears to be on track, since Dimitri Kerkentzes, secretary general of the Bureau International des Expositions, said in October that construction was progressing according to schedule. With the technical meeting complete, the participating countries now begin fit-out of their pavilions ahead of the opening on 15 May 2027.

For more background, see our guide to site analysis.