Climate activists in the UK are set for another round of high-stakes international climate meetings as London has just been announced as host of the 2023 Ecocity World Summit. 

The biannual summit has been held since 1990 and is a key platform for leaders to pore over and present effective strategies in the world’s fight against climate change. The city’s bid as host comes just a few short months after another UK city, Glasgow, took its successful turn as host of the COP26 summit, which organizers will look to continue the momentum of.

Representatives from all walks of life across the city will gather in the Barbican Centre for the three-day event when it begins on June 6th. The city’s month-long Festival of Architecture will provide an apt backdrop for the throngs of activists, environmental designers, and urban planners who attend. An unnamed green “legacy project” will be put together by participants in the conference to mark the collaborative spirit of the occasion. 

London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan called it “fantastic news” that the city would be hosting the summit, adding that “it has been great to see sustainability at the top of the global agenda in the wake of the COP26 summit, and the Ecocity conference in London will continue the sustainability conversation by bringing together business, political and community leaders from all over the world.” The mayor also shared that he is “working with other Mayors and cities across the world to share ideas and collaborate,” and that he feels conferences like Ecocity are effective in boosting global cooperation. 

The bid to host the summit was led by New London Architecture (NLA) with the Mayor’s office and Green Building Council as key backers. Ecocity’s director said she hopes the London conference will be a game-changer that can repeat past successes in a city that is rapdily establishing its own ambitious goals.

“Past Ecocity summits have an amazing track-record of enabling tangible local action,” Ecocity director Amy Chadwick Till said in a statement. “By facilitating global knowledge sharing and highlighting new thinking, projects, and policies frameworks from around the world, we can offer inspiration and tools for cities to deliver on global needs. Design workshops that tackle real-world briefs, a virtual offer that connects in cities with fewer resources, and city activation through the festival in June will, I hope, leave a powerful positive legacy beyond the three-day summit itself.”