Expo 2027 Belgrade took its international roadshow to Athens on Thursday, 29 October. The half-day programme at the InterContinental Athenaeum hotel combined a press conference, presentations, a panel discussion and speed-networking sessions. The goal was twofold: to draw Greek companies into the Expo's business programme, and to persuade Greek travel professionals to sell Expo visits as part of longer trips around Serbia.
Greece is not a new name on the participant list. Its participation agreement was signed in Belgrade in March 2026 by Dimitrios Skalkos, Greece's commissioner for the Expo and president of Enterprise Greece. The Athens meeting was the first big public pitch to Greek business since then.
What Expo 2027 Belgrade offered Greek companies
Igor Kovačević, chief operating officer of Expo 2027 and head of its international participants department, led the presentation. According to Tanjug's report carried by B92, the business side of the exhibition will include:
- six thematic forums;
- a two-day Global Business and Technology Summit;
- more than 250 bilateral business events, planned to generate over 50,000 business meetings;
- a digital business platform where companies can present their capacities, find partners and book meetings before they travel to Belgrade.
Kovačević named the sectors where he sees most room for Greek–Serbian cooperation: maritime transport and logistics, tourism, agriculture and food, energy, construction, digital technology and the creative industries. He also repeated the organiser's forecast that the Expo could add €9 billion in gross value added to Serbia's economy. That figure comes from the organiser's own study and has not been independently checked.
For Kovačević, the real test is the legacy: the opportunity, he said, is to help shape "what comes after it", measured by partnerships and projects that outlive the 93 days of the exhibition.
Skalkos said Greece wants to show its tourism, infrastructure, film industry and technology, with a focus on small and medium-sized tech firms. No details of the Greek pavilion itself, such as its size, position on the site or design team, were released in Athens.
The trade figures behind the pitch
Greece is a significant partner for Serbia. Figures from Serbia's Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade, quoted by the organisers, put 2025 trade in goods at €884 million and trade in services at about €1.27 billion. Together that is more than €2 billion, a level reached for the first time. Tourism is the other pillar: Greek coastal destinations are a long-standing favourite of Serbian holidaymakers, and the organisers now want the flow to go the other way in 2027.
Athens is one stop on a wider autumn tour. Expo 2027 was presented in Vienna on 22 October, and in July the company said it planned promotional activities in more than 20 international markets between September and November 2026, including B2B and B2C tourism workshops, diaspora events and appearances at tourism fairs. By then it had also signed more than 30 partnership agreements with Serbian travel agencies and hotels.
What it means for Serbian suppliers, venues and event firms
Every roadshow stop hints at where foreign demand may come from next spring. For contractors, decorators, venues and event agencies in Serbia, the Athens meeting suggests a few practical steps:
- Get listed. The Expo business portal, presented by Finance Minister Siniša Mali in September, lets any Serbian company register its details and a contact person, which are then shared with participating countries.
- Watch the Greek pavilion. The design and fit-out contractor for Greece's pavilion have not been announced. Foreign participants usually need local partners for construction, logistics, furniture hire, catering and side events.
- Think beyond the site. More than 250 bilateral events will need meeting rooms, AV equipment, interpreters and catering. It is not yet clear how many will take place on the Expo grounds and how many in city venues and hotels.
- Package Serbia. Hotels, incoming agencies and venues outside Belgrade can approach Greek tour operators now, since combined Expo-and-Serbia travel programmes were the stated tourism goal of the Athens meeting.
Expo 2027 Belgrade runs from 15 May to 15 August 2027 under the theme "Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All". The organisers expect more than 140 international participants and around four million visits.
Sources
- www.b92.net
- www.prnewswire.co.uk
- www.mfa.gr
- www.n1info.rs
- n1info.rs
Photo: Lazarescu Alexandra / Unsplash licence / source
