The World Economic Forum (WEF) is openly talking about life after Davos as the home for its annual meetings, and Detroit is one of the cities on the shortlist, according to multiple reports. [LinkedIn] [Investing] [Financial Times]
If you don't know, the WEF is one of the most influential organizations on the planet. Their annual meeting brings world leaders, financiers, and other powerful people together, with the eyes of the world on what's said there.
What’s happening
Senior leaders at the World Economic Forum have been debating whether their flagship annual meeting has outgrown Davos, the Swiss ski town that has hosted it for 56 years.
Concerns range from basic capacity and infrastructure, soaring security costs, and a record number of attendees squeezing into a tiny Alpine valley.
The permanent population of Davos is just over 10,000 people, making the annual influx even more intense.
Larry Fink, BlackRock’s CEO and now interim co‑chair of the WEF’s governing board, has been floating options that include permanently moving the meeting or putting it on a rotating schedule between multiple cities.
In internal conversations and public remarks, he’s made it clear that the current model feels too elitist and too disconnected from people’s real lives.
For 56 years, the World Economic Forum has been synonymous with Davos. And that’s likely to remain true for a while.
But you should also see WEF start doing something new: showing up—and listening—in the places where the modern world is actually built. Davos, yes. But also places like Detroit and Dublin—and cities like Jakarta and Buenos Aires.
The mountain will come down to earth.
If you remember — and we talked with someone from the WEF on our podcast — back in 2021 the WEF announced a Global Centre for Urban Transformation in Detroit. [Apple Podcasts]
In recent years, Detroit has shown we can handle huge crowds with events like the NFL Draft. Hotel capacity is expanding and beginning to get to levels that are competitive on a national stage.
There are plenty of reasons for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to be there right now, but this could be another one on the to-do list.
Why Detroit should care
It's a big "if" with a long way to go — but if the WEF does bring this meeting in Detroit, it would instantly put the city into a global conversation usually reserved for resort towns, Gulf states, and European capitals.
The boost to the hospitality economy would be gigantic, at least in the short term. Some hotel suites in Davos during the event go for more than $50,000 a night.
In my mind, there’s no doubt that places like Michigan Central would play a role as venues, and Wayne State has a number of facilities that could be in the mix.
Since even in the best‑case scenario this is a few years out, you could be talking about showing off a redone RenCen.
A confirmed WEF meeting would also serve as a rallying point for other major projects to finally get on a real schedule.
Watching Detroit‑related projects for as long as I have, it’s clear that without a real deadline with stakes, things often start to slip and fade away. Something like this would help give people a focus point.
Maybe it could be a reason to get some of the wealthiest people in town who keep talking about transit to pony up for real investments. I wish it weren’t the case, but the reality is that special events matter.
It would also test whether a forum long seen as a club for elites is actually willing to anchor itself, even for a while, in a place defined by manufacturing, labor, and the realities of economic change.
For now, Detroit is one of several names on a list and not a confirmed future host.
But the fact that the city is being floated at all — and cited by the WEF’s interim co‑chair as a place “where the modern world is actually built” — is a signal that global power brokers are at least looking in our direction.
What are your thoughts? Let me know.
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