2026 UN Climate Change Conference (COP31): Dates, Tickets & Venue (Antalya)

Twelve days on the old Expo grounds

COP31 runs from November 9 to 20, 2026. It is held at the Antalya Expo Center, the purpose-built grounds that hosted EXPO 2016. The site sits in the Aksu district, out on the flat coastal plain east of the city. It is much closer to Antalya Airport than to the harbour and old town.

This is the annual summit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. For two weeks, government negotiators, diplomats, scientists, campaigners and journalists from almost every country work through plenary halls and side rooms. The days are long, and the corridors between sessions are where much of the real conversation happens.

Badges, not tickets

Nobody buys a ticket to a COP. The secure negotiating zone, usually called the Blue Zone, is open only to people holding UNFCCC accreditation. Three groups get it:

• Party delegates nominated by their national governments
• Observers from organisations the UNFCCC has formally admitted
• Media approved through the secretariat’s press process

At earlier COPs, the host country has also run a separate public area, often called the Green Zone. It hosts exhibitions, talks and cultural events and doesn’t need a UN badge. When one runs, its programme comes from the host side rather than from the UN process.

Getting out to Aksu

Most arrivals land at Antalya Airport (AYT). It is one of Turkey’s busiest airports thanks to the resort trade, and it lies a short drive from the Expo grounds. The AntRay light-rail line links central Antalya with the airport and the Expo area. Taxis and shuttle coaches cover the same road.

Delegates usually stay in one of two places. Some take the big hotels along Lara, the resort strip southeast of the centre. Others base themselves in the city around Kaleiçi and Konyaaltı and commute out each morning. Lara puts you nearer the venue. The city gives you far more choice of places to eat after a late session.

Badge pickup and the security line

The first days are the slowest at any COP. Accreditation pickup and airport-style screening both happen at the entrance, so new arrivals usually build extra time into the opening morning.

How the regulars handle it:

• Carry the badge visibly at all times. Security checks it at every internal checkpoint, not just the gate.
• Keep a refillable water bottle and a power bank. Plenary sessions often run past the published finish, and sockets near seating fill up first.
• Pay by card. Turkish shops and restaurants take cards almost everywhere, though small cafés and dolmuş minibuses still prefer Turkish lira in cash.
• Tip in restaurants. Rounding up or leaving around 5–10% is the norm. In a çay ocağı tea counter, people simply hand over coins.
• Learn two words. Teşekkürler (thank you) and Hesap, lütfen (the bill, please) cover most evenings.

November on the Turkish Riviera

The conference falls after the beach season ends. Antalya’s November days are usually mild and pleasant for walking. It is also one of the wetter months, though, and the Taurus Mountains behind the city can disappear behind heavy cloud. Delegates tend to pack a light waterproof layer along with their suits.

The resort crowds have mostly gone by then. Some seasonal beach hotels in Lara and Kundu may run reduced services, while hotels in the city centre stay open all year.

Between sessions: Antalya beyond the halls

Kaleiçi, the walled old town, is the usual evening escape. It is a knot of narrow lanes and Ottoman timber houses running down to the Roman harbour. You walk in through Hadrian’s Gate, the triple-arched marble gateway built for the emperor’s visit in the 2nd century. The fluted brick minaret of Yivli Minare is the landmark you will steer by.

Closer to the venue there is more to see:

• Perge, in Aksu itself, is a Greco-Roman city with a long colonnaded street, a stadium and twin Hellenistic towers.
• Aspendos, further east near Serik, has one of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere. Its stage building still stands at full height.
• Lower Düden Waterfall at Lara drops straight off the cliffs into the Mediterranean.

Any one of them fits into a free afternoon. For a sea view at dusk, the long pebble beach at Konyaaltı faces the mountains across the bay.