World Cities Day
Next: October 31, 2027
A card for the city you love.
The story
Where it comes from
World Cities Day began as an idea at Expo 2010 Shanghai, whose theme was 'Better City, Better Life'. On the Expo's closing day, 31 October 2010, the Shanghai Declaration proposed that the date become a day for cities. The UN General Assembly agreed in 2013, and the first World Cities Day was held in Shanghai in 2014. UN-Habitat now leads it, with a different host city and theme each year, and it closes Urban October, a month of events on how cities are planned and lived in.
How it's celebrated
The global observance in each year's host city brings together ministers, mayors, planners and residents for forums and talks, and the Shanghai Award for sustainable cities is presented during the event. UN-Habitat's partners add their own local and national events. It is also a fine day to send a card to someone in the city you love, or the one you grew up in.
Did you know
- Until 2009 more people lived in the countryside than in towns; today about 55 per cent of the world lives in towns and cities, and the UN expects almost 70 per cent by 2050.
- Kuala Lumpur hosted the ninth World Urban Forum, UN-Habitat's leading conference on cities, in February 2018.
- World Cities Day was the first international day that China proposed at the United Nations.
Coming up next
- World Vegan Day · November 1, 2027
- Día de Muertos · November 2, 2027
- Culture Day · November 3, 2027
- International Day for Biosphere Reserves · November 3, 2027
- Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb · November 4, 2027
- World Tsunami Awareness Day · November 5, 2027