Serbia has always been a crossroads. For centuries, trade routes, empires and cultures converged here, leaving behind a country that is neither fully Eastern nor fully Western, but comfortably and confidently both. When Expo 2027 Belgrade opens its doors on May 15, 2027, that identity will be on full display, and for visitors from the Gulf it will feel familiar.
Expo 2027 Belgrade is built around the theme "Play for Humanity: Sport and Music for All." Over 93 days, more than 6 million visitors are expected to experience an event spanning 130 participating countries and 8,000 cultural and sporting events.
It is the first specialised Expo ever held in Southeast Europe, arriving at a moment when Serbia has firmly positioned itself as a hub for international business, sport, and culture.
The ties between Serbia and the GCC run deeper than many realise. Gulf investment has played a meaningful role in Serbia’s economic development, and bilateral trade with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar has grown significantly over the past decade. A growing community of businesspeople, students, and tourists from Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain have discovered what locals have always known: this is a place of extraordinary warmth, history and world-class hospitality.
The theme of Play for Humanity is not incidental to this relationship. Sport and music are universal languages, and ones the GCC understands well. The region has invested heavily in global sport, cultural programming, and large-scale international events. Expo 2027 Belgrade shares that ambition - celebrating the athletes, musicians, and artists who remind us that human creativity knows no borders.
For Gulf travellers, Belgrade offers genuine accessibility. Citizens of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman can enter Serbia visa-free - no administrative hurdles, no advance applications. The air connection is well-established: flydubai operates daily nonstop service between Dubai and Belgrade, with Emirates codesharing on the route, placing the Serbian capital within roughly five and a half hours of the Gulf. One-stop connections through Dubai or Istanbul serve travellers from across the wider GCC.
Belgrade’s hospitality landscape has been transformed as well. The St. Regis Belgrade opened in late 2024 at the heart of the new Belgrade Waterfront, the city’s most prestigious address, designed around the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. It is the most refined internationally branded property Serbia has ever seen.
And more is coming: a Ritz-Carlton Belgrade is scheduled to open in 2027, a revitalisation of the storied former Hotel Jugoslavija on the Danube riverfront. Part of a half-billion-euro, mixed-use development, it will bring 193 rooms, two restaurants, a spa, and extensive event space, arriving precisely in time for Expo 2027’s opening. The luxury market is not anticipating demand; it is already responding to it.
Expo 2027 Belgrade is an invitation to rediscover a part of Europe that has long been underestimated, to experience a culture that prises hospitality above almost all else, and to be part of an event that will define Serbia's place in the world for a generation.
* Jerinić is CEO, Expo 2027 Belgrade