Much has been said about it in Serbia in recent months, yet only a few can perceive the full picture. While public discussions most often revolve around big figures, deadlines, and promises, as well as global experiences and an unusual theme, the actual materialisation of the project on the Srem plain remains practically invisible to the majority of citizens. Only those who drive along the Miloš Veliki motorway, near the exit towards Surčin, or passengers landing in Belgrade from the western side, can begin to grasp the scale of the largest construction site in this part of Europe. Where an empty field once stood, a new city is now emerging, one that will change the map of the capital.
Between Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport and the Sava River, on a vast plain that had stood unused for decades, the foundations are now being laid for one of the most ambitious projects in Serbia’s recent history. Expo 2027 Belgrade is not just a three-month International Exhibition. According to its creators, it is also a new urban core, an attempt to build an open, contemporary, and sustainable district of Belgrade, a place that will continue to live long after the Specialised Expo closes on 15 August 2027.
The builders and all those involved in the works at the site where the Specialised Expo will take place in 2027, as well as those included in the project in other ways, agree that “an entirely new city is being built.” They emphasise that expectations are high, responsibility even greater, and while they do not expect the process to be easy, they are fully aware that this is part of what such a large-scale project entails. They agree that “the dimensions and formats of this project are colossal”, and they know that Expo represents far more than an exhibition; it is a monumental infrastructural step forward.
Architecture that Breathes: The Vision of Mark Fenwick
The leading architect of the Expo 2027 Belgrade project is Mark Fenwick, President and Founder of Fenwick Iribarren Architects (FIA), whose name has been associated with some of the most innovative projects of modern architecture for decades. His studio stands behind some of the most renowned stadiums and public spaces in Doha, Madrid, Milan, and Yerevan. In Belgrade, Fenwick is not only designing the Expo complex but also the National Football Stadium, which will become the central architectural landmark of this new part of the Serbian capital.
“We wanted it to be something unique, something visible from afar,” says Fenwick. He adds: “We wanted to create something more on the plain, something completely different in the city’s landscape. The challenge is both technical and emotional. We ended up at the current construction site, which is well connected, yet located outside the city, offering potential for future development in the area.” For him, the Expo 2027 site is “a space of dialogue” – between buildings and nature, but also between nations, cultures, and people. “It is a place where ideas will be exchanged, and design will enable meaningful encounters. The architectural aspect of the Expo 2027 site expresses contemporary values: openness, sustainability, inclusiveness, and play,” Fenwick concludes.
The main theme of the exhibition – Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All permeates every detail of the project. Fenwick’s concept is based on the idea of an urban park, an open space inviting people to stay, connect, and interact. The lines follow the flow of the river, and the pavilions shine like sparkling dots, linking the sky and the earth. The complex will, much like the city itself, breathe together with its people.
“Expo 2027 will create a new, vibrant urban district, introduce new infrastructure, and position the city on the global map as a capital oriented towards the future. In this broader sense, Expo 2027 is not just a project; it is an invitation to the world to gather, connect, and build together. Through the development of its architecture, Belgrade is not merely presenting space; it is presenting vision, openness, and spirit,” says Fenwick.
His approach to architecture is not founded on monumentality but on experience. The buildings are not designed to be admired from the outside but to be lived in. Fenwick’s vision is clear: architecture must breathe.
A New Urban Layer of Belgrade
As concrete is poured into the foundations and steel structures begin to rise, the outlines of a new city: its streets, squares, parks, buildings, and pavilions, are already taking shape on the horizon. Here, according to the current plans, thousands of people will live and work, while millions of visitors will pass through during the exhibition itself and in the years to follow.
“We are building something with a far greater purpose than a three-month event, something this part of Europe does not yet have; we are building an entirely new district in Belgrade,” says Danilo Dangubić, Chief Architect of Expo 2027.
Located just 13 kilometres from the city centre, the site will be connected to the rest of the capital by a new railway line, boulevards, and pedestrian zones. At its core, the National Football Stadium will stand, Fenwick’s architectural design with a capacity exceeding 50,000 spectators. Around it, a new district is emerging, with hotels, museums, boulevards, and parks, as well as a new Sava River port, from which cruise ships and water taxis will connect this new hub with the city.
The construction of the supporting infrastructure is overseen by Lazar Prodanović, civil engineer and head of groundworks at the Expo 2027 site.
“Beneath and above ground, there are tens of kilometres of installations: sewage systems, gas pipelines, heating networks, electrical and telecommunications grids, all of which must serve the future facilities,” he explains.
Prodanović’s task is not purely technical: he is, in essence, building the skeleton of a city that is intended to live on long after the exhibition. The complex will encompass ten kilometres of new boulevards, 9,000 parking spaces, and multiple levels of traffic infrastructure.
The Legacy That Remains
Expo 2027 Belgrade has been conceived as a project whose infrastructure will continue to thrive long after the exhibition concludes. The International Participants Area will become the new location of the Belgrade Fair, while modular construction materials used for the Best Practice and Corporate Area pavilions will be repurposed to build six new schools and kindergartens, as well as 22 sports halls, not only within the Expo zone but throughout Serbia.
Unlike many International Exhibitions that failed to plan their legacy adequately, the Belgrade concept was designed from the outset as a sustainable structure. The goal is for 100 per cent of the Expo 2027 legacy to be utilised after the exhibition – a first in the history of International Exhibitions. In doing so, Expo 2027 will become not only an architectural achievement but also an urban experiment, exploring how a city can grow without losing its identity.
More than four million visitors are expected, which will significantly impact tourism and the region’s international visibility. Yet a fundamental question still stands behind the figures: how will this “city within a city” come to life once the Specialised Expo has ended?
From the Past to the Future
The history of International Exhibitions shows that each host city has its own distinctive mark. Lisbon, on the banks of the River Tagus, transformed an industrial zone into the Parque das Nações, a lively district that still radiates creativity. Paris, with the Eiffel Tower, taught the world that a symbol can outlive centuries. Barcelona gave birth to Montjuïc, Montreal to its Habitat 67, while Seville and Brussels, through their pavilions, demonstrated that science and art can share the same horizon.
From the Crystal Palace in London and more than 170 years ago onward, every Expo has represented a new beginning: a space where past, present, and future meet in both material and idea. Their legacy lies not only in architecture but also in the transformation of everyday life, in new habits and a renewed culture of public space.
In 2027, Belgrade will have the opportunity to join this tradition. When the pavilions rise, the squares are paved and green, and the lights illuminate the site, the city will open its doors to the world under the theme Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All. Yet the true play, as those working on the site each day say, has already begun – in the people who are shaping the new face of this space.
And when the exhibition ends and the curtains fall, squares filled with footsteps, parks filled with greenery, and halls filled with ideas will remain. And the city that lives, grows, and breathes – as proof that Serbia not only dared to dream big dreams but also found a way to bring them to life – will still be standing.
