How to work Davos week — the 2026 field guide

The official World Economic Forum programme represents just 30% of the true Davos experience. The remaining 70% unfolds beyond the Congress Centre walls — in hotel lobbies, mountain restaurants, and side events that host over 20,000 attendees without WEF credentials.

This directory maps 557 verified events across 43 venues, with every date, location and access requirement documented. Consider it your operational navigation system for Davos 2026.

The official programme

The official WEF programme operates 09:00–18:00 inside the Congress Centre.

The parallel week

The parallel week operates 07:30–23:00 across 43 venues — on the Promenade, in hotel lobbies, and in mountain restaurants many attendees never find.

The six worth the slot

Singled out from the full programme, with the reason for each. Every one links through to its archive entry.

01
Japan Night 2026
21 January, 19:15–21:15 · Central Sporthotel Davos
The signature networking gathering of the week — 500+ global leaders.
02
Belgium House: From Risk to Resilience
20 January, 17:45–18:15 · Hotel National
Belgian PM Bart De Wever and Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
03
Swiss: Making Multilateralism Work
20 January, 14:30–16:30 · House of Switzerland
Swiss President Guy Parmelin and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
04
Brain Economy Report Launch
21 January, 17:00–18:00 · Seehof Hotel
The WEF Brain Economy Report goes public here first.
05
Nigeria House Inaugural Opening
22 January, 11:00–13:00 · Davos Promenade
A first national pavilion only opens once.
06
The Swedish Lunch
21 January, 11:30–15:00 · Hotel Schatzalp
Long-running invitation lunch, up the funicular and away from the Promenade crush.

The hours that matter

Not every hour of the week is worth the same.

19:00–22:00: The golden hours — receptions and dinners, where relationships actually get built.
08:00–10:00: Breakfast events offer the most intimate access of the day.
12:00–14:00: Lunch sessions provide extended, seated networking.

Playing the week

How the shape of the week changes under you.

Sunday–Monday: Arrive early, work the opening events, establish presence before the crowds land.
Tuesday–Wednesday: Peak networking. Prioritise evening receptions over daytime panels.
Thursday: Critical deal-making day. Follow up on everything from the first half of the week.
Friday–Saturday: Closing sessions and final networking, with far shorter queues everywhere.

What each badge opens

The single most common misunderstanding of the week: a Forum badge is not what most of this needs.

Type of event	Badge required
Official WEF sessions	Yes — White Badge
House of Switzerland	Mixed — varies by session
Promenade venues	Generally none
Web3 Hub / CV Labs	None
Hotel private events	Hotel Badge possible
Semafor Haus	Yes — WEF or Hotel Badge

A WEF badge is not required for most side events.
Many events run first-come, first-served — arriving early matters more than the confirmation email.
Evening events between 19:00 and 22:00 are the prime networking windows.
Hotel lobbies are active networking spaces outside formal events, and cost nothing to walk into.
Swiss: Redefining Energy Security (21 January, 10:00–13:30) was fully booked at time of publication.

Clashes you cannot resolve

Two things worth attending, running against each other. Knowing early is the whole advantage.

Hotel National hosts both Belgium House and InTent, in different wings — check which one your invitation names.
Japan Night (19:15) collides with the CII India Reception and FT Live engagements.
House of Switzerland runs sessions in parallel across the Crystal Lounge and Nordside — pick a track rather than assuming you can do both.

The unofficial circuit

The venues that run alongside the houses, and predate most of them.

Hub Culture — the original shadow venue
Web3 Hub — Obere Strasse 33
Climate Hub — Kulturplatz
The Swedish Lunch — Hotel Schatzalp

New in 2026

Pavilions appearing for the first time.

Nigeria House (Inaugural)

Davos Promenade · 20–23 January 2026

Nigeria's first national pavilion at the Annual Meeting, showcasing economic reforms and investment opportunities.

Saudi House

Davos · 19–23 January 2026

First dedicated Saudi House at Davos, aligned with Vision 2030.

'The Diwan in Davos: Saudi Arabia 2030 & The Next Phase' — 21 January, 08:30, AMERON Davos Swiss Mountain Resort

Startup Greece Delegation

Promenade · 19–23 January 2026

Greece's startup ecosystem debuts, with Golden Visa investor sessions.

What the week was about

The themes the programme organised itself around.

The Brain Economy

The Brain House represents a significant paradigm shift — treating cognitive health as 'Brain Capital', a quantifiable macroeconomic asset rather than a healthcare line item.

Patrick J. Kennedy on workforce mental health and its estimated $1T/year impact
Daniel Skovronsky (Eli Lilly) on biomarkers
WEF Brain Economy Report launch

Agentic AI Evolution

The transition from 'Generative AI' (2024/2025) to 'Agentic AI' (2026) defines this year's technology conversations — the question moved from what a model can write to what a system can be trusted to do.

Wipro Pavilion — autonomous enterprise sessions across three days
C3 AI Lounge — agentic AI for regulated industries
AI House — 40+ panels, closing summit on the Friday

Space Economy Expansion

Switzerland positions itself as neutral arbiter for space assets, with the House of Switzerland running the densest space programme of any national pavilion.

Swiss–Japan New Space Economy session
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher keynote
Multiple commercial space station discussions

Advisory presence

Firms with a declared role in the week.

McKinsey & Company: Strategic Partner — pre-Davos webinar (14 January)
Boston Consulting Group (BCG): Strategic Partner — multiple panels
Deloitte: Deloitte Haus, Promenade 85 — Health Equity session, virtual (20 January)
PwC: Multiple sessions — Global CEO Survey launch (19 January)
KPMG: Strategic Partner — India session
EY: Strategic Partner — multiple panels
Accenture: Strategic Partner — technology sessions
Bain & Company: Strategic Partner
Kearney: Strategic Partner
Oliver Wyman: Via Marsh McLennan — risk sessions

Where to register

As published by the hosts. These were live for the 2026 week and are kept as part of the record — many will have closed.

Planning the next one?

This is how 2026 ran. We use the same judgement to build a week that works for your delegation — access, timing and the rooms worth being in.

Speak with a specialist

How to work Davos week.