As a member of Energy Cities since 2025, Athens will welcome members and urban practitioners for three days of exchange, inspiration and collective action. Together, participants will explore how to build the fair, resilient and liveable cities we need today and for the future.
In his message ahead of the Energy Cities Annual Forum, Athens Mayor Haris Doukas said: “Athens is proud to host the Energy Cities Annual Forum 2027 and to welcome cities and communities from across Europe for a conversation that goes to the heart of the challenges we face today. Affordable housing, energy democracy, climate adaptation and the sustainable management of tourism flows may seem like different issues, but they are deeply interconnected. Ultimately, they all come down to one fundamental question: how can we make our cities fairer, more resilient and more liveable for everyone?
For Athens, the answer begins with people. We need human-centred solutions that respond to everyday realities: ensuring access to affordable housing and clean energy, protecting the most vulnerable from the impacts of the climate crisis, and managing tourism in a way that supports the local economy without putting excessive pressure on neighbourhoods, public space and residents’ quality of life.
Communities and people who experience these challenges first-hand are already developing new responses from the ground up. Because a just transition cannot be designed for people without being shaped with them. In April 2027, we want Athens to become a meeting point for these experiences, ideas and voices and a place where we can learn from one another”.
The 2027 theme: Rebuilding liveable places
“Rebuilding liveable places” focuses on rethinking how cities and neighbourhoods are designed and developed to become more liveable, inclusive and resilient. This means adapting to the impacts of climate change, from heatwaves and floods to other growing environmental pressures, while ensuring that everyone has access to safe and affordable living conditions.
Three pillars will shape the Forum’s discussions:
1. Housing: making homes a common good
2. Energy democracy: taking energy into our own hands
3. Adaptation: guaranteeing urban liveability
Elissaios Sarmas, CEO of Develop Athens, said: “Hosting the Energy Cities Annual Forum 2027 in Athens is an opportunity to bring the European debate on a just energy transition closer to people’s everyday lives. This human-centred approach is precisely the philosophy behind the City of Athens’ Energy Poverty Alleviation Office, implemented with the support of Develop Athens: understanding energy vulnerability at household level and turning that knowledge into targeted support and practical solutions.
Our experience has shown us that energy poverty cannot be addressed in isolation. It is closely linked to housing, social inequality and climate resilience. This is why cities need solutions that respond not only to environmental targets, but also to the real needs of the people and communities they serve.
The Forum offers us a valuable opportunity to share what we have learned in Athens while learning from other European cities and communities already developing solutions on the ground. This exchange is essential if we want the green transition to be not only ambitious but also fair, inclusive and truly centred on people”.
Alongside these three pillars, the Forum will also address the challenges of overtourism in cities and territories. Discussions will explore the tensions between tourism, local economies and economic development, and the wellbeing and quality of life of local communities.
Registration will open in early February 2027.
Follow updates on the official website: https://annualforum.energy-cities.eu/
* The action will be implemented within the framework of the project “Operation of the Energy Crisis Response Mechanism in the Municipality of Athens” (MIS Code 6039174), which is co-financed by the Attica Regional Operational Programme 2021–2027 and the European Regional Development Fund.