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Debate Season is Here
Your guide to the key events as candidates for SG hit the road
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With the President of the UN General Assembly’s first set of interactive dialogues in April, candidates for Secretary-General cleared the first formal hurdle of the 2026 race.
But the official track is only part of the story. Candidates are also expected to engage in public events hosted by think tanks and civil society while, beneath the surface, they maneuver to convince governments, funders, and the media of the strength of their candidacy.
Ahead of the Security Council’s straw polls — expected in July — candidates are hitting the road and debate season will soon be in full swing. While public visibility does not always equal success, it shapes global perceptions and can reveal unexpected strengths or vulnerabilities in a candidate’s platform.
Here is your guide to three major debates that are worth watching. Remember that we already have one new candidate in the race: María Fernanda Espinosa. As she is yet to face the General Assembly, it is assumed that the PGA will organize further interactive dialogues for her and other late entrants, maybe in late June. New York insiders expect that the PGA will also host a public exchange that will put candidates on the same stage sometime in the coming months.
Read our cheat sheet for everything you need to know about the process of electing a new Secretary-General. And we’ll update this article as we get more details on each debate.
London Calling
🌐 Website: The leader the world needs (updates via the UNA-UK newsletter)
📋 Host: The United Nations Association - UK (UNA-UK), with support from RELX.
🗓️ Logistics: Thursday, May 28, 2026, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The event is taking place at the Methodist Central Hall Westminster in London.
🎟️ How to join: You can book a pay-what-you-can ticket to join in person. You also have the opportunity to submit questions online ahead of time, as the event will feature pre-selected questions from the audience. At the moment, we don’t have details on whether virtual participation is possible. The debate is being filmed, but — as far as we know — will not be broadcast live.
💬 Format: Four confirmed candidates — Michelle Bachelet, María Fernanda Espinosa, Rafael Grossi, and Rebeca Grynspan — will provide opening statements and sit for a moderated conversation. Macky Sall will not participate in this debate. The evening will kick off with a high-level panel discussion on UN leadership featuring Mark Malloch-Brown (former UN Deputy Secretary-General), Thant Myint-U (writer and historian, and a UN Foundation Senior Fellow), and Margarita Gómez (Executive Director of Southern Voice).
✨ Vibe: UNA-UK ran the first-ever public hustings in 2016, drawing nearly 2,000 people to what was described as “the people’s opportunity to grill candidates.” As part of the 1 for 8 Billion campaign, UNA-UK uses these debates to shine a spotlight on the selection process, demand transparency, and expose any attempts to undermine accountability. Expect a highly engaged crowd focused on finding the right leader for the “world’s toughest job.”
#NextUNSG Geneva
🌐 Website: The Candidates Debate 2026 – #NextUNSG
📋 Host: GWL Voices, in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation.
🗓️ Logistics: Tuesday, June 9, 2026. The debate will take place at the Ivan Pictet Auditorium at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva.
🎟️ How to join: Unlike London, this event is by invitation only. However, the debate will be broadcast via Eurovision’s network.
💬 Format: The debate will be moderated by journalist Zeinab Badawi. It is designed to bring together the official candidates to present their vision, leadership approach, and priorities, followed by a substantive exchange on the most pressing global challenges. Michelle Bachelet, María Fernanda Espinosa, and Rebeca Grynspan are confirmed as participating. Rafael Grossi and Macky Sall are yet to confirm.
✨ Vibe: Positioned as a high-level convening that aims to foster a neutral, informed conversation on the future of multilateral leadership. This event will be a big draw for the “International Geneva” ecosystem, attracting a knowledgeable crowd of ambassadors, UN insiders, NGOs, media, and local students.
Reimagining Multilateralism in Korea
🌐 Website: The 21st Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity
📋 Host: Co-hosted by the Jeju Peace Institute, Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, United Nations Foundation, and GWL Voices, as part of the annual Jeju Forum.
🗓️ Logistics: The forum runs from June 24 to 26, 2026, across the Haevichi Hotel & Resort and Jeju Stone Park in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. The candidate debate — officially titled “Reimagining Multilateralism - A Dialogue with UN Secretary General Candidates“ — will take place on Thursday, June 25, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
🎟️ How to join: The summit brings together thousands of government officials, experts, and international press in person. You can register here. For those not making the trip to South Korea, major plenary sessions from the Jeju Forum are livestreamed on the official platform.
💬 Format: Billed a chance for candidates to “present their visions for how they plan to lead the international community and the UN,” news reports claim a full house with all candidates committed to attending. So far, the official program lists Rafael Grossi, Rebeca Grynspan, and Macky Sall as speakers. They will lay out their blueprints for leading the UN through unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty.
✨ Vibe: The debate is likely to link to the Jeju Forum’s theme: “reinventing cooperation in a fragmented world,” while shifting the race’s center of gravity to the Asia-Pacific. Expect the candidates’ positions on global security, climate transitions, and AI governance to be tested. Sitting right at the end of June, it is likely to bookend the candidates’ global tour before they return to New York as the Security Council’s closed-door voting begins in July.