Sweden’s biggest innovation fest H22 City Expo officially launches packed programme

Europe’s biggest conference on sustainable cities, the United Nations, Michelin star chefs, world artists, Europe's most innovative cities, and up to 100 official partners from the business sector, academia and civil society will all be in town when Helsingborg invites the world to H22 City Expo – a 35-day international event with over 300 programme features highlighting the role of innovation in shaping the smart and sustainable city of the future.

From 30 May to 3 July, visitors to H22 City Expo will be able to experience groundbreaking innovations, circular solutions, national and international conferences, culture and music, design and architecture exhibitions, hackathons, and inspirational activities for life in a smarter and more sustainable city. All programme features can be found at h22cityexpo.com.

Highlights from the programme include:
The H22 +50 Session and Dialogue of Eminent Experts on smart, sustainable, and inclusive cities: A two-day event organised together with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) highlighting the power and responsibility of cities to accelerate the achievement of the sustainable development goals at a local level. 31 May-1 June.
Urban Future: On 1-3 June, Europe's biggest event for sustainable cities is coming to H22 City Expo. The most passionate people involved in urban sustainability on a global scale will all gather in Helsingborg this summer. 108 mayors and city representatives from 72 cities in 28 countries will participate.
Urban Brilliance: On 30 May-2 June, some of Europe’s most sustainable cities will showcase their groundbreaking innovations and best practices in tackling global challenges at a local level. Valencia, Greater Copenhagen and Linz are among the first cities to be confirmed.
H22 Arena: For four days, 13-16 June, Hamntorget square in Helsingborg is being transformed into a national arena for Swedish politicians, civil society, industry, academia, and interest groups to discuss how to create the sustainable and thoughtful cities of the future. Expect high-level attendees from the Swedish government.
The Swedish National Space Agency: will be on site during H22 City Expo in many different activities. Explore how space technology and data from space can uncover answers to many of the questions about climate change and how we can plan and develop our cities to adapt to the changes. Special guests to be announced!
Award-winning Swedish top chef Daniel Berlin: is ensuring that the food reflects the future and is innovative and sustainable throughout the 35-day event. Expect top meetings with chefs, such as Swedish household name Niklas Ekstedt and Danish top chef Nicolai Nörregaard, workshops and tastings, as well as in-depth talks between producers and farmers.
DM: is a new type of marketplace where the ideas come from the residents in the Drottninghög neighborhood. Behind the idea is Ikea who has developed DM together with the city, residents, and other partners to play a more active role as a city developer. In the area’s urban farm, vegetables are being grown that will supply the local kitchen where many of the residents work.
Havoteket: Learn about the ocean and sea life at Havoteket, a prototype of a future learning environment that focuses on sustainability issues linked to the ocean.
RecoLab - where wastewater becomes a resource: The city’s development facility RecoLab manages a unique wastewater system that separates three waste flows. Helsingborg’s urban renewal neighbourhood Oceanhamnen is the first in the world to test this innovative system at full scale. The hypermodern facility will be inaugurated during H22 City Expo.
Artificial stone reef: Visit the artificial stone reef and experience the sea in a new and closer way than ever before. Through building stone reefs in the harbour, the city wants to create a better environment for the marine creatures to live and plants to grow while also promoting biological diversity.
Magasin 405 – IKEA showcases the future of the home in historic warehouse: In the old harbour area of Helsingborg, IKEA will explore the future of home in different situations – one being Your First Home. You can also expect exhibitions that you normally would not see in the typical IKEA store. The warehouse hosts a huge food court with restaurants, bars at all levels and even a dancehall.
ReCreate: Scientists and the property and construction industry are working together in the international research project ReCreate to find solutions for circular building that reuses concrete from demolished houses. The Swedish contributors, KTH and Helsingborgshem, are presenting their first results during H22 City Expo.
SilviaBo - a unique housing concept for seniors: SilviaBo is a new type of home uniquely designed to accommodate the challenges of ageing, including dementia-related illnesses. The original idea arose from a meeting between H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden and Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA. Model homes will be open to visitors for the first time during H22 City Expo.
The Sounds – rocking out on top of a medieval fortress tower: World-famous rock band The Sounds will be the first act ever to perform a live concert on top of Helsingborg’s epic medieval fortress tower Kärnan - the city’s most famous landmark that dates back to 1320. 
H22’s superheroes: Children can meet and interact with the four superheroes during the expo. There is a superhero for each area, each one representing one of the four elements. And why not visit a brand new playground where the children of Helsingborg, the city’s very own playground experts, decided that the jungle theme was the right one.
Helsingborg´s majestic water tower - a new architectural landmark in Sweden: One of Sweden’s most esteemed living architects, Gert Wingårdh, and his team have created Helsingborg’s new breathtaking water tower. Instead of a compact tower, Wingårdh’s team open it up by making the outer structure create space on the inside, surrounded by a broad, elevated ring ninety metres in diameter. During H22 City Expo, twenty-four different sound channels will play the music of water to highlight the importance of fresh water for humanity in a time when access to water has become an urgent issue.
The Forest: Ikea is inviting young, creative minds from across the globe, and across disciplines, to show how they experience and inhabit nature and how they have reconnected with their local nature in new ways. In collaboration with four major architecture and design universities from across the globe (ECAL - Switzerland, MIT - Boston, KADK in Copenhagen and Ingvar Kamprad Design Centre, Lund University), these issues will be explored in an experimental space called ‘Skogen’ - Swedish for forest - at the harbour front of Helsingborg.
Young Swedish Design: showcases the latest and most innovative in young Swedish design. It's a forum where meetings between designers, producers, and audiences take place. 
The Port of Helsingborg tests a new electric road system:  Sweden’s second largest container port is testing a new high-tech electric road concept from Swedish company Elonroad. The system charges all types of electric vehicles from a power strip in the road, whether they are parked or on the move. This technology can be explored on site in the port during the Expo.
Vera Park: The city’s former landfill is now an innovative industrial park and test bed for environment-related solutions. Innovations include landfill mining and producing chipboard with fossil-free binders. A new biochar plant is under construction and will be open to visitors during H22 City Expo.

For more information and media inquiries, please contact:

Maria Ploberg, Press Officer at H22 City Expo, +46 738-22 43 67, maria.ploberg@helsingborg.se