From presentations and discussions around active mobility, to a bike tour of Copenhagen’s cycling infrastructure and the chance to witness a UCI Women’s WorldTour event, the 2025 UCI Mobility and Bike City Forum offered a full programme for all participants.
The two days (20-21 June) of activities and meetings in the Danish capital were organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in partnership with the City of Copenhagen and with the support of Wonderful Copenhagen and Sport Event Denmark. Some 200 delegates from around the world participated in the seventh edition of the UCI Mobility & Bike City Forum, held jointly with the Copenhagen Cycling Summit.
It was a fitting venue for the Forum as Copenhagen is one of the world’s leading cycling cities and the first to be awarded the UCI Bike City Label in 2008.
The Forum was officially opened by Lars Weiss, Lord Mayor of the City of Copenhagen, Line Barfod, Mayor of Technical and Environmental Affairs, and UCI Cycling for All & Sustainable Cycling Commission President Tony Mitchell.
Delegates were then inspired by keynote speaker Janette Sadik-Khan, former NYC Transportation Commissioner and global voice for people-first urban design, who shared her expert recommendations on accelerating the cycling revolution.
International experts lead panel discussions
The Forum featured several panel discussions, with the input of experts from all over the world, on the following themes:
the role of cycling policy in city planning, with a focus on tangible cycling strategies and projects (including in particular infrastructure and education). Speakers came from St-Quentin-en Yvelines (France), Bogota (Colombia) and USA-based organisation PeopleForBikes.
rethinking cycling funding for cities around the world, with representatives from C40 Cities, the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) and the World Resources Institute sharing recommendations on potential financial mechanisms and cross-sector partnerships which could support greater funding for cycling, especially in the Global South.
the role of professional riders in inspiring more people globally to get on a bike, with testimonials from Denmark’s UCI Para Cycling Road World Champion and Paralympic Champion Emma Lund (also Copenhagen Sprint Ambassador), and multiple UCI Track World Champion and Olympic medallist Frederik Rodenberg Madsen.
Spotlight on children and youth
The 2025 UCI Mobility and Bike City Forum featured the launch of the educational programme Ride and Learn that places cycling at the heart of social cohesion, inclusion and peace.
This was followed by a moving handover of the Youth’s Cycling Summit Call to Action by representatives from the Copenhagen Youth Council and Copenhagen Climate Ambassadors. Four young speakers shared their list of recommendations for child-friendly city planning, developed during the Youth’s Cycling Summit held on 3 June in Copenhagen, with Jakob Næsager (Copenhagen Mayor for Children & Youth) joining them on stage.
Roles of the cycling industry and cycling events
The important role of the cycling industry was highlighted in a specific session focused on collaboration and innovative strategies, with the participation of representatives from Shimano Europe, Strava, the Danish Chamber of Commerce and the City of Copenhagen. Highlighting the lack of qualified bicycle mechanics, Shimano Europe’s Ties van Dijk launched a new call to action from all attending organisations to contribute to a review of current challenges and opportunities regarding cycle mechanic training and careers across Europe.
The key role of cycling events in maximising societal impact, public engagement and social inclusion was highlighted during the afternoon session. British Cycling kicked off a series of presentations and discussions, that also included examples from current UCI Bike Cities and Regions, including Limburg (the Netherlands), Brisbane (Australia), Copenhagen (Denmark), Noord-Brabant (the Netherlands) and Flanders (Belgium).
One of the specificities of the 2025 UCI Mobility & Bike City Forum, hosted as part of the Copenhagen Cycling Summit, was the organisation of four simultaneous breakout sessions with delegates from both events joining together for a series of workshops on the following themes:
integrating cycling in national heath law
cyclists love trains – better combination travel
active mobility for sustainable development – common narrative, finance and impact;
cycling as an enabler for social inclusion – scrap bikes as a means for employment.
Celebrating UCI award winners
At two different ceremonies held during the day, the UCI rewarded stakeholders for their work to develop cycling and its values:
Two UCI Bike City Label trophies were awarded: to Brisbane (Australia) and the Province of Zeeland (the Netherlands), bringing the international network of label holders to thirty.
The four winners of the 2025 UCI Cycling for All & Sustainability Awards were announced and can be discovered in the press release published on the UCI website.
Bike tours, bike parade and the Copenhagen Sprint
On the second day of the Forum, delegates visited Copenhagen’s world-class cycling infrastructure by bike, using the city’s public bikeshare system. They were able to watch the inaugural Copenhagen Sprint (UCI Women’s WorldTour) and participate in the event’s parallel festival which included a pre-race bike parade – in the company of UCI President David Lappartient - on an 11km closed race circuit.
A highlights video as well as footage from all sessions of the 2025 UCI Mobility & Bike City Forum x Copenhagen Cycling Summit are published on the UCI website.