ICCA Ranking: Prague Remains One of the World’s Most Sought-After Congress Destinations

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) published its latest ranking of the world’s leading congress destinations on Monday. Prague secured sixth place and once again remained among the top ten despite increasing international competition. This year, Lisbon topped the ranking ahead of Paris and Barcelona.

Prague continues to rank among the world’s most important congress cities. In the latest ranking by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the Czech capital placed sixth out of a total of 4,728 evaluated cities, once again maintaining its position among the world’s leading congress destinations.

According to the latest aggregated data from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) and the Prague Convention Bureau (PCB), a total of 5,166 events of various types took place in Prague in 2025. This represents a slight increase of 0.5 per cent compared to the previous year. At the same time, the number of participants rose by 5.7 per cent to a total of 850,157 delegates.

According to the Prague Convention Bureau, the segment of smaller events with between 50 and 500 participants recorded particularly strong growth. At the same time, Prague also hosted numerous major international congresses and conferences. More than 50 events recorded over 1,000 participants.

Among the largest events were the 47th Congress on Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), with more than 4,700 participants, and the 25th World Congress of Psychiatry (WPC), attended by more than 3,400 experts from 117 countries.

Video: Prague Convention Bureau

“Medical sciences have long been among the strongest sectors of Prague’s congress industry,” said Roman Muška, Director of the Prague Convention Bureau. According to ICCA, Prague also ranks fifth worldwide in the field of medical congresses.

Alongside medical topics, events focusing on technology, business, finance and trade are also becoming increasingly important, according to Muška.

The main source markets for international events in Prague last year were the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France and Switzerland. International events accounted for a total of 43 per cent of all congresses and conferences held in the Czech capital.

Foto: Kongresszentrum Prag (KCP)

“Competition between congress destinations is continuously intensifying,” Muška added. Today, it is no longer only infrastructure and capacity that matter, but also the ability to actively attract international events to Prague.

For the future competitiveness of the Czech capital, the planned expansion of the Prague Congress Centre will therefore play an important role. Construction work is scheduled to begin in June, with completion planned for 2029.

The Prague Convention Bureau was founded in 2008 and serves as the official organisation promoting Prague as an international congress and event destination.