Helsingborg’s 35-day innovation fest H22 City Expo draws the crowds and launches new collaborations

H22 City Expo is officially over. From 30 May to 3 July, Helsingborg was a hive of activity that attracted industry visionaries, curious residents, urban changemakers, young innovators, adventurous tourists, and passionate people – all coming together in Helsingborg to explore how to create more sustainable, resilient, and thoughtful cities.

The expo was attended by two members of the Swedish royal family, five ministers, MEPs, two astronauts, top Nordic culinary stars, and a host of international politicians and scientists. The European Innovation Council’s new innovation network was also launched during the expo and a high-profile UN conference was held. One of the world’s most innovative universities, MIT, was on site to work with Helsingborg in developing smart city solutions. The throngs of visitors could also enjoy a city-wide celebration with food, concerts, and unusual cultural experiences.

More than 45 countries and as many as half of Sweden’s municipalities visited H22 to discuss and drive the work with developing sustainable cities and achieving the Global Goals of the 2030 Agenda. For the past three years, Helsingborg has worked closely with its 100 H22 partners to develop the city, and H22 City Expo has served as an arena for showcasing the resulting solutions from this work.

“I am both proud and overwhelmed by the commitment shown by city employees and residents during these 35 days. H22 City Expo has been a great success that has bolstered Helsingborg's position as one of Europe's most innovative cities. The expo has created and strengthened relations for Helsingborg’s continued work thanks to successful collaborations with the business community, associations, civil society, and academia. We have hosted the UN, the EU, and international cities and universities, proving that Helsingborg is a springboard for the future. Now we are setting our sights on a climate-neutral Helsingborg by 2030 and using the power and momentum that H22 has created,” says Peter Danielsson, Mayor of Helsingborg.

“Cities all over the world are currently grappling with the challenge of how to create a sustainable city with a high level of welfare and quality of life for all. H22 City Expo has shone a light on the necessary innovation work that is being done around the world and has given us as a city the opportunity to learn and be inspired by others. Helsingborg has come a long way, but if we are to successfully handle the global transition, we need to inspire and challenge each other across boundaries,” says Jan Björklund, Vice Chairman of the Municipal Executive Committee.

“We really want to thank the city employees, partners, many stakeholders, and everyone else who has in some way contributed to an unforgettable city expo. We have been able to highlight all the ambitious work being done in Helsingborg while also exploring the innovative and creative solutions from colleagues around the country and the world. There have been meetings, conferences, music, entertainment, exhibitions, cultural events… the list is long. And the amazing thing is that none of this could have happened without the fantastic development and innovation work that we have pursued together in the Helsingborg Group and with our many partners. This is no ordinary event. This is a three-year movement that has been manifested over the course of 35 days,” Soraya Axelsson, Head of H22.

“H55 and H99 have in different ways been important for the development of IKEA, and now we can add H22 to that fine tradition. Thanks to H22 City Expo and our collaboration with the City of Helsingborg, we at IKEA have gained lots of new experiences and knowledge that we can take with us out into the world to try and make life at home a little better for many. It is important to be able to show that we at IKEA have a stubbornly positive view of our future and how we can work together to make it better. H22 has given us that opportunity. The fact that we had a whole lot of fun together along with concerts, presentations, podcasts, live gaming on Twitch, and lots of new local food and drink experiences is really the cherry on top. Throughout the expo, we have had hundreds of thousands of visitors, which we see as a great success. In the end, it’s all about having a sense of curiosity and learning new things by engaging with others,” says Marcus Engman, Chief Creative Officer at Ingka Group.

H22 in numbers:

Figures from Telia Insight show that the main areas of the expo have had a total of around one million visits between 30 May and 3 July. The figures are preliminary and additional data will be collected during the autumn so that final figures can be presented.

Individual measurements (a selection)

1,000 programme features over 35 days

100 H22 partners

45 countries represented

150 visiting municipalities

300 conferences and meetings

Distribution of visits by main area:

300,000 visits to Oceanhamnen

600,000 visits to the City Centre and Slottshagen

125,000 visits to Drottninghög

120,000 visits to IKEA’s initiative Magasin 405

30,000 visits to Havoteket

14,000 visits to Helsingborgsrummet

12,000 visits to the 1972 museum apartment

8,000 visits to ‘The Sounds’ concert in Slottshagen

About Telia Crowd Insights
Telia Crowd Insights is commonly used in city and community planning to measure flows. Personal privacy is protected and can never be traced back to an individual. The service is well proven and has been used by several municipalities in tourist and event surveys. The Public Health Agency of Sweden used the same service during the pandemic to measure movements and activity.

All figures from Telia Insights exclude those who are perceived to work or live in the measurement area, even though residents have most likely also been visitors to the expo.