BUFFALO, N.Y. — Canal enthusiasts, professionals and scholars from all over the world will come to Buffalo in 2025. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday the city has been chosen by Inland Waterways International to host the 2025 World Canals Conference.
The event will be held during the 200th anniversary celebration of the opening of the Erie Canal.
"I am honored that New York State, and particularly the City of Buffalo, will host the 2025 World Canals Conference, providing us with the opportunity to host attendees from around the globe while highlighting a critical part of our state and nation's history during the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal's opening," Hochul said. "The Erie Canal has been an integral part of New York's economy and landscape since Governor Dewitt Clinton began the 10-day inaugural voyage in Buffalo in 1825 on the newly completed canal, culminating in the famous 'Wedding of the Waters' ceremony in New York Harbor."
The conference will highlight the $400 million investment in Buffalo's transformed Canalside District. Thanks to new hotels, the KeyBank Center, Explore & More Children's Museum and other attractions, the city's waterfront now attracts more than 1,000,000 each year.
The conference agenda will include sessions on waterways and communities, tourism and recreation, waterway management, historic preservation and inclusion and accessibility.
"For nearly two centuries, the Erie Canal has connected people and commerce across our state, and as the stewards of this iconic waterway, I am thrilled to celebrate its bicentennial alongside Governor Hochul and our colleagues as we bring the international focus of the World Canals Conference back to New York State," said NYS Canal Corporation Director Brian Stratton.
"This global gathering of inland waterway leaders and canal enthusiasts allows us to truly showcase how our continued investments in the Canal system support recreation and local businesses in canalside communities across upstate New York."
The gathering will mark the fourth time NYS has hosted this international event. Rochester hosted in 2000 and 201 and Syracuse in 2017.
