Expo 2027 Belgrade will have its own innovation prize. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which governs world expos, has confirmed that the Expo Innovation Award will return for the Belgrade exhibition, with €50,000 in each of two categories. The award is run together with Japan's Global Industrial and Social Progress Research Institute (GISPRI), and this will be its second edition.
The announcement, dated 13 October, comes as several participants hunt for products and ideas to put in front of Expo visitors. For technology firms, start-ups, exhibit designers and the agencies that build interactive displays, the prize adds another reason to think about what they will show in Surčin next summer.
How the Expo Innovation Award works
There are two categories. Technological Innovation covers new technologies, systems, exhibits and events that fit the Expo theme, "Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All". Social Innovation rewards new, effective and sustainable answers to social problems that can have a lasting effect.
The prize money is meant to fund further development of the winning projects. The award is open to individuals, private companies, NGOs and other non-governmental bodies, but only if their innovation is presented or demonstrated at Expo 2027 Belgrade. Government bodies cannot enter. The winners will be named at a ceremony towards the end of the Expo, which runs from 15 May to 15 August 2027.
The BIE page does not yet give an entry deadline or name the jury. Anyone thinking of applying should watch the BIE website for the call for entries.
Austria is looking for exhibits for its Lab Austria
National pavilions are running their own searches. Expo Austria has opened a call for Austrian products, solutions and creative innovations linked to the Expo theme. Selected entries will be shown in "Lab Austria", the innovation space inside the Austrian pavilion, and will get PR and marketing support in Austria and abroad. Taking part is free.
The Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) page gives 29 November 2026 as the closing date, although the page address mentions 18 November. Austrian companies should confirm the deadline with Expo Austria before planning around it.
The call shows how pavilions are filling their exhibition space: not only with national displays, but with rotating showcases of companies and research groups. Those showcases need design, installation, AV and maintenance, often from local partners.
Serbian start-ups are already in the pipeline
Serbia has been preparing its own innovators for some time. The Innovation Fund of Serbia's ExpoTech programme, backed by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, is supporting 21 domestic projects that are developing and testing technology for use at the exhibition. Teams come mainly from Belgrade, with others from Novi Sad, Niš, Šabac, Kragujevac and Valjevo.
The projects described so far include AI avatars that act as digital hosts, a platform that turns a mobile phone into an interactive exhibition tool, tools for managing visitor flows in real time while protecting privacy, and XR experiences built around history and cultural heritage, such as Kovačica XR. If these teams demonstrate their work at the Expo, they could be among the Serbian candidates for the BIE award.
Why it matters for exhibition professionals
Innovation showcases are some of the most demanding stands to build. They need power and data, screens, sensors, sturdy interactive furniture and staff who can keep the technology running for 93 days. Stand builders and AV rental firms that can handle this kind of brief, and the venues that can host demo days and pitch events around the Expo, have a clear opening.
The practical step now is to talk to the teams. Start-ups in programmes like ExpoTech, and companies that apply to calls such as Lab Austria, will need partners who can turn a prototype into something that survives three months of public use.
Sources
- www.bie-paris.org
- www.bie-paris.org
- www.wko.at
- biznis.rs
Photo: Anton Lukin / Unsplash licence / source
