WEF 2027 · 18–22.01.2027 · Davos
Davos during the World Economic Forum is the most contested square kilometre in global business — and the most heavily regulated. We help you secure the right space, navigate Gemeinde Davos permit rules, and stage an activation that lands.
We map your concept to the Gemeinde Davos rules before you commit a single franc.
We work alongside the municipality and the WEF permit office to keep your project compliant and on schedule.
Pavilions, lounges, restaurant takeovers, hotel suites or private chalets — matched to your goals and the cap.
Regulatory briefing
For WEF 2027 the Gemeinde Davos has introduced the strictest temporary-build regime in the history of the Annual Meeting. Space is no longer simply expensive — it is capped, scored and fiercely contested. If you are planning a presence, the rules below decide whether your event happens at all.
For the first time, the municipality limits the total number of temporary builds and venue conversions during WEF week. WEF 2027 is capped at roughly 125 projects across the core Promenade zones, with a further reduction planned for 2028. Once a zone is full, no further projects are approved — regardless of budget.
When demand exceeds the cap, applications are scored and ranked. The biggest weight goes to the completeness and quality of the application and your compliance record from the previous year. Whether your end-user is an officially invited WEF participant and whether you submit early also count. A weak or late dossier simply does not get a slot.
The building-permit deadline is brought forward to mid-August 2026, with an early-submission bonus for filing before late July. Operating concepts, fire-safety contacts and advertising layouts all have their own hard cut-offs in autumn 2026. Decisions that used to be made in September now need to be locked in by early summer.
The old grey area is closed. If a restaurant or bar is rented as an event location and repurposed for panels, meetings or branded activations, it now requires a full building permit and counts against the cap — exactly like converting an office into a lounge. Only genuine private seated dinners, with the venue still operating as a restaurant, stay exempt.
The interior-setback exemption is abolished: all interior advertising that creates an external visual effect now needs a permit and counts against the 10m² digital cap. Building height is limited to two storeys, and late advertising layouts are restricted to a single small unlit surface. Bold branding is still possible — but every element must be declared and approved.
Each end-user now gets a single project in total. Any sponsor or partner receiving a room and branding inside your venue must be named in the original permit application. Selling sponsorship packages with space and branding after the permit is filed is a violation that can block your project — and the venue — for a year.
We have spent years operating inside this system. We don't fight the regulations — we plan around them. From the first conversation we pressure-test your concept against the cap, the zoning and the advertising rules, then build a permit application designed to score well and stand up to scrutiny.
Figures reflect the Gemeinde Davos temporary-build regulations announced for WEF 2027 and are indicative; final caps, zones and deadlines are confirmed by the municipality.
Tell us about your event
Share the details below and our team will come back to you with the right options, a realistic view of what is permitted, and next steps.