CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has signed on as an official participant of Expo 2027 Belgrade with its own exhibition space — the first time it has joined a World or Specialised Expo in this capacity.
| Status | Signed agreement to participate as an official participant, confirmed late Jul 2026 [source] |
|---|---|
| Participant type | International organisation with its own exhibition space — CERN's first-ever appearance at an Expo in this capacity [source] |
| Commissioner | Ursula Basler, CERN's Commissioner for Expo 2027 Belgrade [source] |
| Agreement signatories | Minister Jagoda Lazarević, EXPO 2027 Belgrade director Danilo Jerinić, and CERN section commissioner Ursula Basler [source] |
CERN — the European Organization for Nuclear Research — has signed an agreement to take part in Expo 2027 Belgrade as an official participant with its own exhibition space, the first time the organization has joined a World or Specialised Expo in this capacity rather than through a national pavilion. The participation was confirmed in late July 2026, with CERN's commissioner for Expo 2027 Belgrade, Ursula Basler, saying the organization is pleased to take part as an official participant for the first time.
CERN's exhibition space is intended to let the millions of visitors expected at Expo 2027 discover the world of modern science in an accessible way and understand why scientific discoveries matter for humanity's future. Organizers tie the contribution directly to the Expo's overall theme, 'Play for Humanity': science, they note, always carries an element of play, curiosity and research that leads to new discoveries and innovations — framed as a natural fit for CERN's presence.
National pavilions sit in the International Participant Area of the 25-hectare Expo site at Surčin, in the western part of Belgrade — the zone that becomes the city's new Belgrade Fair after the event. The site is about 5 km from Nikola Tesla Airport and roughly 13.5 km southwest of central Belgrade (official planning figures), so if you fly in, you land closer to the Expo grounds than to town. Exact positions within the zones haven't been published yet; we'll add the location when the site plan lands.
Yes. CERN signed an agreement to take part as an official participant with its own exhibition space, confirmed in late July 2026 — the first time CERN has joined a World or Specialised Expo in this way.
Details of the exhibits have not been published yet. Organizers describe the space as intended to let visitors discover modern science accessibly and understand its importance for humanity's future, tying it to the Expo's 'Play for Humanity' theme.
More on the Expo: participant tracker · all pavilion profiles · who's coming to Expo 2027 · the full Expo 2027 guide