Ilham Aliyev reviews WUF13 preparations at Baku Stadium
President Ilham Aliyev reviewed preparations for the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
Main announcement: President Ilham Aliyev inspected venue readiness for WUF13 (May 17–22); briefings were given by Anar Guliyev, Chairman of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture, and Adil Mammadov, Executive Director of the WUF13 Azerbaijan Operating Company. The operational site covers 53 hectares (43 ha event site + 10 ha transport/parking), with a main hall capacity of up to 6,000, about 300 parallel sessions per day, 121 pavilions (41 national) in the Urban Expo Zone, and 32,225 registered participants from 180 countries to date.
- Date: May 17–22, 2026
- Time: (not specified in article)
- Location: Baku Olympic Stadium and surrounding operational area, Baku, Azerbaijan
- Agenda/subject: “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities”; includes thematic sessions, UN events, bilateral negotiations, and a newly included Leaders’ Summit segment.
Operational and infrastructure details: The site features dedicated zones for high-level guests, a 2-hectare Media Center (capacity 600; up to 400 media working simultaneously), a 2.5-hectare open-air WUF13 Boulevard, an Urban Expo Zone of 3.5 hectares, simultaneous translation in six UN languages plus Azerbaijani and Turkish, primary and backup data centers, large-scale fiber-optic and wireless networks, a registration area serving 70 people simultaneously (~1,000 participants/hour), and integrated transport planning including a 10-hectare transport/parking-transfer zone.