From October 27 to 31, the Carpigiani Gelato University headquarters in Anzola Emilia became the gelato capital of the world, hosting 150 European gelato makers from 17 countries. They were competing for places in the World Final planned for 2026, which completes a journey that began in 2022 with 4,000 gelato makers and hundreds of local selections around the world.

Gelato Festival World Masters is organised in collaboration with Carpigiani and Sigep by Italian Exhibition Group.

The calendar

• October 27 and 28, Second Italian Semifinal: 75 gelato makers from 15 regions competed, with eight advancing to the Italian Final at Sigep 2026.
• October 30 and 31, Spain: nine gelato makers competed for three World Final places.
• October 30 and 31, Hungary: nine gelato makers competed for two World Final places.
• October 30 and 31, Poland: eight gelato makers competed for two World Final places.
• October 30 and 31, Czech Republic: nine gelato makers competed for two World Final places.
• October 30 and 31, Belgium: nine gelato makers competed for two World Final places.
• October 30 and 31, Greece: nine gelato makers competed for two World Final places.
• October 30 and 31, Rest of Europe: 22 gelato makers from Bulgaria (2), France (5), the Netherlands (3), Norway (3), Sweden (1), Switzerland (5) and the United Kingdom (3) competed for four World Final places.

Where the competition comes from

The event debuted in Florence in 2010, inspired by the first gelato recipe, created by architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. It spread across Italy and Europe, reached the United States in 2017, and then went global with the World Masters championship, whose 2017 to 2021 edition involved over 3,500 gelato makers.

Train with Carpigiani Gelato University in New Zealand

Carpigiani Gelato University, the host of these finals, runs courses that Majors Group can help you access. Learn more about Gelato University courses, or see how our artisan gelato machines support the craft.

Source: Carpigiani news. Rewritten for New Zealand by Majors Group.