UNESCO committee-host country

▲ Members of the Turkish delegation receive applause after their nation was selected to host the next UNESCO World Heritage Committee session during the 48th session held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center in Busan, southeastern South Korea, on July 28, 2026. (Yonhap)

BUSAN, July 28 (Yonhap) -- The UNESCO World Heritage Committee on Tuesday chose Turkey to host next year's 49th session in Istanbul, organizers said.

The decision was made during the 48th session being held in the southeastern South Korean city of Busan.

The 49th session is scheduled to run from June 27 to July 7, 2027, in Istanbul, according to the Turkish delegation.

The country will also take the chair next year by custom, while Armenia, Grenada, Vietnam, Tanzania and Kuwait were elected as vice-chairs.

Turkey previously hosted the 40th meeting in Istanbul in July 2016. That session was disrupted by a military coup attempt and resumed at UNESCO headquarters in Paris three months later.

The World Heritage Committee is UNESCO's main decision-making body on world heritage affairs. It comprises 21 members elected from among the 196 countries that are parties to the World Heritage Convention, and meets annually to review new nominations and assess the conservation status of listed sites.

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