Philips Lighting

A shining example of how a private-sector partner can illuminate future urban development in collaboration with local leaders took place in Sweden's fourth largest city at the start of 2015.

Today, Philips Lighting is the undisputed leader in sports, providing floodlighting for 55% of the world's largest soccer stadiums, 70% of the UK's Premier League clubs, and a host of other major venues.

Mike Simpson, Global Application Lead: "Clubs can add entertainment to the stadium experience, which is stunning. LED is flicker free."

Faced with the many economic, social and environmental challenges of rapid urbanization, city authorities of today have found an important new ally in the shape of cutting-edge digital technology and services.

Today, everything aspires to be smart: from the ubiquitous—the smartphone in your hand—to sometimes the ridiculous (Google Glass, Fitbit for dogs, Lily the selfie drone). But, if we want our future to be smarter, we need to start thinking beyond "smart for smart's sake" now.

For WEF participants gathering in the glittering conference halls of Davos it may be hard to imagine, but over one billion people around the world still do not have access to electric light.

As Rio de Janeiro's mayor since 2008, Eduardo Paes has run Brazil's most iconic city through times of triumph and tragedy.

One of the greatest challenges discussed by delegates at Davos in recent times has been how to decouple economic growth from increased energy consumption. After the two hottest years on record, the environmental and economic imperative is now greater than ever before.

Eric Rondolat, CEO: "To make a city smart, you need connected streetlights, smart homes and smart buildings with connected lighting, such as offices, industry, retail environments, and hospitals."