Beijing Forum to open on June 26

The 2012 Beijing Forum on the Sustainable Development of Cities will kick off on June 26 in Beijing, municipal authorities said at a news conference on Friday.

The three-day forum, with the theme "Culture: the driving power of a city's sustainable development", will include four major events: a forum for city mayors, an entrepreneur forum, an urban culture exhibition and an arts festival, said Zhao Huimin, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Beijing Municipal People's Government.

Twenty-five cities around the world - such as Washington, Budapest, Copenhagen and Venice - will participate in the event.

Established in 2010, the forum is an international communication platform between Beijing and its sister cities. The sustainable development of cities is a permanent theme.