A Greek non-profit conference held at Delphi under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic since 2016: its 11th edition ran 22 to 25 April 2026 and drew heads of state, EU officials, central bankers and business executives for four days of debate on geopolitics, energy and the economy, with the 12th edition's dates not yet announced.
Delphi Economic Forum is an annual policy conference held in the Greek town of Delphi, organised since 2016 by the non-profit Delphi Economic Forum NPO under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic. It convenes heads of state and government, EU officials, central bankers, business executives, academics and journalists for four days of plenaries, panels and closed-door meetings on geopolitics, the economy, energy and society. The 11th edition (DEF XI) ran 22 to 25 April 2026 under the theme "The Shock of the New." A 12th edition is expected but has no published date as of 3 September 2026.
The last confirmed edition, DEF XI, ran 22 to 25 April 2026 at the Amalia Hotel and the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, in the town of Delphi, Greece. No 12th edition has been announced: the official site (delphiforum.gr) and the DEF XI edition site (def-xi.delphiforum.gr) still present DEF XI as the current forum as of 3 September 2026, with no date, venue or theme published for a 2027 gathering. Every edition since the 2016 launch has run in Delphi in either March or April, except the 2020 edition, held virtually from the Zappeion Hall in Athens because of the pandemic, so a spring 2027 date is a reasonable expectation, not a confirmed fact.
Delphi Economic Forum NPO, a Greek non-profit founded in 2016, registered under General Commercial Registration No. 136416501000, headquartered at 21 Amerikis Street, 106 72 Athens, Greece. It was founded and is chaired by Symeon G. Tsomokos as President; Yiannis Thomatos serves as Vice-President, alongside board members Stella Tsomokou, Panayotis Bernitsas, John Saracakis and Lila Vogli. It operates under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic and also runs a year-round programme of satellite forums and digital events. Contact: info@delphiforum.gr, +30 210 72 89 089.
Press coverage of DEF XI (April 2026) cites more than 1,000 speakers and participants across 200-plus sessions and closed-door meetings, a figure from a participating think tank's press release rather than an organiser-audited count; one trade outlet separately put the same edition at "approximately 1,200 speakers." Neither total is independently verified, and no country count was published for 2026 (the prior edition, DEF X in April 2025, was reported at 800-plus speakers from 70 countries). Confirmed 2026 attendees included heads of state and government, EU commissioners, central bank and international-organisation leaders, Greek and regional business executives, academics, journalists and NGO representatives. There is no trade or exhibition floor.
DEF XI (22 to 25 April 2026) is the last confirmed edition; no speaker roster exists yet for a next edition because none has been announced. The names below are documented on the official DEF XI speakers page (def-xi.delphiforum.gr/speakers), which lists several hundred names in an alphabetical directory; only a small sample is reproduced here.
Several hundred further names, spanning EU institutions, national governments, academia, media and companies such as Google, Microsoft, Siemens, PwC, Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group, AbbVie and GSK, sit in the published A-Z directory and are not reproduced here.
DEF XI moved later in the month against the prior year, running 22 to 25 April 2026 versus 9 to 12 April 2025 for DEF X. The 2026 theme, "The Shock of the New," opened what the organiser called the forum's second decade after DEF X marked ten years in 2025. Notable 2026 additions to the guest list included Prince Albert II of Monaco and European Council President António Costa; reported participant volume also rose in press accounts, from "800-plus speakers, 70 countries" in 2025 to "1,000-plus speakers and participants" in 2026, though the two figures are not built the same way and should not be read as a precise year-on-year comparison. No 12th edition has been announced yet, so there is nothing further to report for a next gathering.
DEF XI ran across seven thematic tracks: The State of the World (geopolitics and international affairs), Economy & Finance, Society, Planet (environment and energy transition), People, Growth and Energy & Infrastructure, consistent with the forum's five recurring pillars of Geopolitics, Planet, Sustainable Economy and Finance, Future and People. Recurring subject areas across these tracks and the database's research record include geopolitics, sustainable economy and finance, energy transition, digital transformation, South-East Europe and Eastern Mediterranean affairs, climate risk, and the future of work. Formats included plenary sessions in the invitation-only Leto Hall, "In Conversation" dialogues, fireside chats, panel discussions, formal statements and award ceremonies, run across more than 200 sessions and closed-door meetings over four days. No programme has been published for a next edition.
Plenary sessions in the main Leto Hall (invitation-only, live-streamed to non-invited registrants on LED walls elsewhere on site), smaller "In Conversation" and fireside-chat formats, multi-speaker panels, formal statements and award ceremonies. The database's research record classifies the event format as hybrid: the in-person programme in Delphi runs alongside free live online streaming for registrants who are not invited on site. There is no exhibition floor and no stated networking-app or scheduled-meeting system: the format is conference and closed-door dialogue, not a buyer-seller matchmaking event.
Within the four days of DEF XI: private, invitation-only working dinners on subjects such as the fragmentation of globalisation and Middle East geopolitics, and the Costa Carras European Citizens Award Ceremony, recognising environmental and cultural-heritage initiatives. Separately, Delphi Economic Forum NPO runs a year-round portfolio of standalone satellite forums under its own brand in other cities, not alongside the Delphi gathering: these include the Delphi Forum Washington D.C. (its 7th edition ran 9 to 10 February 2026, an 8th edition is scheduled 8 to 9 February 2027), plus recurring editions in Brussels, Paris, Toronto, Sofia, Belgrade, Tirana, Skopje and Cyprus. These are separate events with their own dates and should not be treated as fringe programming of the April Delphi conference.
For DEF XI, early-bird in-person passes were EUR 1,800. Regular in-person passes were EUR 2,200. Late-bird in-person passes reached EUR 2,500. Free online streaming access was available throughout, described by the organiser as complimentary. Source: def-xi.delphiforum.gr registration page, cited via the events.db research record. No pricing has been published for a next edition.
Not publicly disclosed. The DEF XI roster was organiser-curated; no open call for speakers, application form or submission process was found on delphiforum.gr or the DEF XI edition site. General inquiries go to info@delphiforum.gr.
Not publicly disclosed as a formal process. The DEF XI partners page lists around 80 "programming partners" in Greece and internationally, institutions that shape session content (think tanks, universities, chambers of commerce, foundations) rather than a tiered commercial-sponsor structure; no public application page or pricing for that status was found. Companies such as Hill International have separately announced sponsoring and speaking at DEF XI, but no public sponsor-tier list or contact route for commercial sponsorship is published. General inquiries go to info@delphiforum.gr.
No tiered commercial-sponsor list is published for DEF XI. Instead, the official partners page names around 80 "programming partners," split into international and Greek institutions, who co-shape sessions rather than buy sponsorship tiers.
Separately, companies including Hill International have publicly stated a sponsoring and speaking role at DEF XI without appearing on the published partners page, which suggests the page above does not capture the full list of paying commercial sponsors.
Read from the published partner and speaker rosters rather than from a stated breakdown. Institutional and civil-society bodies dominate the formal partners list: think tanks and policy institutes (Chatham House, RAND, SIPRI, ELIAMEP, Bruegel), universities, chambers of commerce and foundations, alongside multilateral organisations (OECD, World Bank, European Economic and Social Committee). Corporate presence runs through the speaker list rather than a sponsor-tier page: professional-services and consulting firms (PwC, Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group, EY-Parthenon), technology and pharma multinationals (Google, Microsoft, Siemens, AbbVie, GSK, AstraZeneca), Greek energy, banking, shipping and retail groups (HELLENiQ Energy, Eurobank, Terna Energy, Lidl Hellas), and financial infrastructure (Euronext). No percentage breakdown or exhibitor count is published; this reads the observed roster, not a stated statistic.
Not publicly disclosed. No dedicated press or media page, media contact email, or accreditation form was found on delphiforum.gr or the DEF XI edition site; the only published contact is the general inquiry line, info@delphiforum.gr.
Three types of published coverage were found for DEF XI (April 2026), none confirmed as placed content since the organiser publishes no media-partner list. Institutional participant reporting: the European Economic and Social Committee published its own account of its delegation's sessions, a participant's report rather than independent journalism. Think tank press release: Strategy International, a programming partner, published a release citing "more than 1,000 speakers and participants" and "over 200 sessions," figures that trace back to a participant organisation, not an outside newsroom. General-interest Greek and regional coverage: GTP Headlines and GreekReporter both ran opening-day news pieces citing organiser-style figures (theme, headline guests, an approximate 1,200-speaker count) without independent verification of scale.
Mixed, and none of it independently audited. No official media-partner list is published, so no outlet found in research can be confirmed as placed content, but none can be confirmed as a fully independent outside newsroom either. The European Economic and Social Committee and Strategy International pieces are both written by participating institutions about their own involvement, not by outside reporters. GTP Headlines and GreekReporter are general-interest and travel-trade outlets that ran factual opening-day pieces, closer to independent coverage, but they reproduce organiser-style attendance and speaker figures without an independent count of their own. No coverage found came from a major international newsroom (Reuters, Bloomberg, Politico, Financial Times) reporting from the room. Net read: what exists is participant self-reporting plus light regional press pickup, not scrutiny coverage.
Vendors and exhibitors looking for a trade floor or a scheduled buyer-seller meeting system: there is none. Sector specialists wanting narrow technical content: the programme is a generalist geopolitics-and-economy conference, not a vertical-industry event. Anyone expecting an open-registration audience of early-career professionals: participation runs heavily through invited heads of state, ministers, EU officials and senior executives, with the paid delegate track sitting alongside, not instead of, that invited layer.
Delphi runs in spring (March or April every year since 2016, bar the 2020 digital edition), positioning it opposite the autumn cluster of European economic forums also covered in this index, such as Ambrosetti Forum at Cernobbio and Economic Forum Karpacz, both held in early September, and distinct from the January World Economic Forum at Davos. Within its own spring window it overlaps loosely with the St. Gallen Symposium (May) and precedes the ECB Forum on Central Banking at Sintra (typically late June or July). Delphi's specific positioning is regional and head-of-state-heavy: a Greek, EU-adjacent platform for South-East Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, rather than a global-business or central-banking forum.
Yes, but as separate branded events, not as touring editions of the same conference. Delphi Economic Forum NPO runs standalone satellite forums including the Delphi Forum Washington D.C. (7th edition, 9 to 10 February 2026; 8th edition scheduled 8 to 9 February 2027), plus recurring forums in Brussels, Paris, Toronto, Sofia, Belgrade, Tirana, Skopje and Cyprus, and a series of single-city events (a Chania forum on population dynamics, an Athens "Gen Next Summit," Olympia Forum, among others). The flagship April conference in Delphi remains the largest and only one held in the town itself.
English and Greek are the working languages. At DEF XI, an AI-powered live-translation service (Evenly) covered 10 languages across all sessions: Greek, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish and Russian. Conventional human interpretation with headsets was available only on the opening day, Wednesday 22 April, and only in Leto Hall, Greek and English.
Yes, in part. DEF XI offered free live online streaming for registrants who were not invited in person, alongside the in-person passes. The organiser's YouTube channel also hosts a dedicated "Delphi Economic Forum 2026" playlist of session recordings published after the event, though not every session is necessarily included. No on-demand or remote option has been described for a next edition, since none has been announced.
Not publicly disclosed. No refund or cancellation policy for delegate tickets was found on delphiforum.gr, the DEF XI edition site, or in the DEF mobile app's terms of use, which cover app usage rather than ticket purchases. Prospective attendees should confirm directly with info@delphiforum.gr before booking.
Not publicly disclosed. The DEF XI "Useful Information" page covers transport, accommodation, dress code and Wi-Fi in detail but contains no accessibility statement, and none was found on the tickets or terms pages either.
Delphi is about 180 km from Athens, roughly two and a half hours by car via the Athens-Lamia motorway; a taxi from Athens International Airport was quoted at EUR 230 to 260 one way for DEF XI. Regular coach services run from the Athens Liossion terminal; there is no direct train. For registered DEF XI participants on site, complimentary Uber rides (branded UberDEFxi) ran between Delphi and nearby Arachova from 08:00 to 02:00, free electric shuttle vehicles operated from the Delphi Palace throughout the four days, and shuttle buses served the host hotels on a published timetable. Parking was available near the venues on a first-come, first-served basis, and was described as limited.
Read the silence as a scheduling gap, not a sign the forum is winding down: every edition since the 2016 launch has run in Delphi each spring except the 2020 digital edition, and DEF XI closed only in April 2026 to press coverage citing over 1,000 participants and heads of state including the Greek President and Prime Minister, the President of the European Council and the Prime Minister of Albania. A forum that visible does not fold quietly. The more likely explanation is that the organiser, a small non-profit rather than a large standing secretariat, simply has not opened next year's cycle yet as of September 2026, the same gap between editions X (April 2025) and XI (April 2026) probably repeating rather than a change in status.
The choice is deliberate symbolism, not logistics: Athens has better transport links, yet the organiser keeps the flagship gathering nearly three hours away in a UNESCO World Heritage site historically associated with prophecy and counsel. Founded under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic and run by a non-profit rather than a commercial producer, the forum trades convenience for the framing that a debate about Europe's and the Eastern Mediterranean's future carries more weight held where the ancient world once sought foresight. The multi-venue arrangement across the Amalia Hotel and the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, rather than a single modern conference centre, reinforces that the town itself, not just the programme, is part of the pitch.
None of the numbers in circulation come from an audited count. A participating think tank's press release put DEF XI at "more than 1,000 speakers and participants," a separate trade outlet cited "approximately 1,200 speakers" for the same four days, and the prior edition, DEF X, was reported at "800-plus speakers from 70 countries," a different framing again. These figures come from participants and press pieces that reproduce organiser-style language, not from independent audits, and speakers and general attendees are not always counted separately. Treat any specific total as an approximation of scale, not a verified figure.
Official site: delphiforum.gr. DEF XI edition site: def-xi.delphiforum.gr. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/delphi-economic-forum. Instagram: instagram.com/delphieconomicforum. Facebook: facebook.com/delphiforum. YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UC6ZLo6IIgNlOLUCpMn-egNw. A TikTok presence (handle delphieconomicforum) is also linked from the official site's footer but could not be independently confirmed here. No X/Twitter account was found. General contact: info@delphiforum.gr, +30 210 72 89 089. Registered address: 21 Amerikis Street, 106 72 Athens, Greece; General Commercial Registration No. 136416501000. No RSS feed was found on the official site.