Calgary to host 'Olympics of Geology' event in 2028 expected to draw up to 10,000 geoscientists

Calgary will host the 2028 International Geological Congress, which took place this past August in Busan, South Korea, where a white-hatted Canadian contingent learned that they won their bid. (Photo: Mark Eaton)

Calgary will really be "rocking" in August 2028, when it hosts thousands of geoscientists attending the International Geological Congress.

Known as the “Olympics of Geology,” the congress is the premier event for global Earth science, with somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 geoscientists expected in 2028.

University of Calgary professor David Eaton said in a story by Colette Derworiz posted on the U of Calgary wesbsite that hosting the event will be an opportunity to showcase what’s going on in Canadian geoscience research.

“It’s a generational opportunity,” Eaton said, “for Canadian geoscience to showcase all of the fantastic work that is happening here.

“It’s also an opportunity for young geoscientists to meet with their scientific heroes from around the world and use that to generate ideas and excitement that they can take forward in their careers.”

Calgary won the bid at the latest congress, which was held in Busan, South Korea in August, with a pitch that stressed Calgary’s geologic heritage, its energy innovation, its Indigenous connections and its new BMO Centre, not to mention its growing reputation as an international city.

Another element that helped was the fact that there are 22 UNESCO World Heritage sites and numerous other geologically significant sites across Canada.

Some of those include Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, and Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, which has a significant number of petroglyphs that date back 5,000 years.

“We bridge between the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Canadian Rocky Mountains,” said Mount Royal University associate professor Katherine Boggs, who co-chaired the Calgary pitch with Eaton. “There are five UNESCO World Heritage sites, which are fascinating beautiful places with gorgeous geology, all with a day’s drive of Calgary.”

Some topics that figure to be discussed at the conference include climate change-related issues such as droughts, floods, and wildfires, critical minerals and the sustainable energy transition.

The project is anticipated to pump around $23.6 million into Calgary’s economy, according to Tourism Calgary.