Trento Economy Festival: record numbers among youth, digital and innovation

The 21st edition of the Trento Economy Festival concludes with a record balance, confirming the event as one of the main international appointments dedicated to the discussion on economy, society and global policies.

From May 20 to 24, the city of Trento was the center of the European economic and cultural debate, with over 45,000 attendees, more than 830 speakers and over 350 events held across 18 rooms and 4 city squares. The theme “From the market to new powers. The hopes of youth” permeated the entire program, with a strong focus on geopolitics, artificial intelligence, energy, work and the future of new generations, confirming the Festival's ability to combine scientific depth and widespread participation.

The 2026 edition saw the presence of 147 academics, 35 economists, 126 representatives from national and international institutions, 129 members of the business community, 20 ministers and 5 Nobel Laureates, demonstrating the increasingly global dimension of the event, while the Off Festival also recorded great success, involving young people and families through outreach meetings, shows, live podcasts and cultural initiatives.

Among the most significant initiatives is the “Call for Ideas – The Voices of Tomorrow”, which brought 14 young people aged 18 to 30 to the stage, selected from hundreds of applications, reinforcing the centrality of new generations in the public debate. On the digital front, the Festival achieved unprecedented results with 3.2 million total views (+52% compared to 2025), 2.1 million unique users and over 70,546 interactions (+118%), thanks to an editorial strategy that produced 625 contents on official channels and made the Festival a permanent platform for participation. The contribution of digital creators involved in communication was also fundamental, generating 2.27 million views and reaching 1.26 million users with over 70 contents, confirming the event's ability to speak to new generations through contemporary languages.

The coverage by the 24 ORE Group and “Il Sole 24 Ore” was also extensive, reaching over 10 million users across social media, streaming, podcasts and digital platforms, with 1 million views of the live broadcasts, 200,000 users for live coverage and 6.5 million social views, while the Sole website recorded nearly 4 million users during the Festival days.

In this context, the Trento Economy Festival confirms itself not only as a reference event for economic debate but as a true European laboratory for discussion on the future, capable of uniting institutions, businesses, the academic world and new generations into a single large platform for public participation.

Cover photo: Michele Lotti (Press Office Archive PAT)