Dubai shortlisted to host world’s largest museum conference

Dubai has been shortlisted to host the 27th International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference 2025, the largest international conference in the field of museums.

A virtual meeting of ICOM’s Advisory Council meeting held on 17 June 2021 announced the three cities shortlisted to host the event. A total of 170 members from 118 countries took part in the meeting. Members of ICOM will vote in November 2021 to decide the host city.

Established in 1946 under the umbrella of the United Nations, ICOM is a global organisation of museums and museum professionals committed to the promotion and protection of cultural heritage. Its membership includes nearly 50,000 specialists from 122 countries, and nearly 20,000 museums from all over the world.

In April, the UAE chapter of ICOM (ICOM-UAE), in cooperation with three government entities — Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), Dubai Municipality, and Dubai Tourism — had submitted the UAE’s bid to host the ICOM General Conference 2025 in Dubai under the theme ‘The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities.’ Dubai will be competing with Stockholm (Sweden) and Kazan (Russia) in the final round of voting.

The ICOM General Conference is held once every three years. The 25th edition held in 2019 in Kyoto, Japan, saw the participation of nearly 4,500 specialists in the field of museums from all over the world. The 26th edition is scheduled to be held in Prague, The Czech Republic in 2022.

The UAE has around 55 official government museums and about 115 private museums, including global and cultural icons, such as the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Museum, and the Museum of the Future in Dubai.