The UAE has won the bid to host the 27th International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference 2025 in Dubai under the theme 'The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities’. The new global achievement is set to further strengthen the UAE’s leading position as the capital of creativity and innovation across various fields.

Dubai's victory came following the voting round that was held at the meeting of ICOM's executive committee on 18th and 19th November, with the participation of over 130 members. Dubai's bid succeeded in obtaining 68 votes, beating Sweden's Stockholm (34 votes), and Russia's Kazan (20 votes).

The three cities nominated to host ICOM 2025 - Dubai, Stockholm and Kazan - each had made final presentations prior to the voting process that took place electronically.

The efforts of the UAE’s chapter of ICOM (ICOM-UAE), in cooperation with Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), Dubai Municipality, and the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), resulted in presenting the city and its capabilities to earn it the bid.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, tweeted on his official account on Twitter, saying, "Dubai's victory to host the largest global conference on museums, ICOM 2025, with the attendance of 119 countries, covering 20,000 international museums, gives a strong impetus to the country's cultural sector. Our international museums in our beloved emirate and our national museums throughout the country will lead the global debate on the future of museums at this huge international conference."

Founded in 1946 under the umbrella of the United Nations, ICOM is a global organisation specialised in the field of museums, their development and coordination. Its membership includes more than 50,000 specialists from nearly 120 countries, and nearly 20,000 museums around the world.

At the end of April 2021, the UAE chapter of ICOM (ICOM-UAE), in cooperation with 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.’ In appreciation of the UAE's position and Dubai's prominent role in the field of heritage preservation, and its advanced infrastructure in the field of designing and managing international museums, ICOM selected Dubai among the list of candidates to host the conference.

Source: Emirates News Agency - UAE wins bid to host ICOM General Conference 2025 (wam.ae)