5th World Congress of Psychogeography

Who are we?

The Fifth World Congress of Psychogeography (5WCoP) is an annual congress of psychogeography. We welcome anyone and everyone interested in psychogeography- from those who have just discovered it to those who have been involved for years. We present a congress with a variety of disciplines exploring the field, from presentations to film, walks to performance, art, photography and happenings.

Congress is always free; we rely on donations and are run and organised by a small group of volunteers. (Donate here link coming soon!)

When is the congress?

5WCoP is an annual free congress held in the UK at the end of September/start of October. We are currently in Swansea, South Wales.

Previous events

The First-ever 5WCoP was held in Swansea in 2025 and featured three walks and an evening social, and some interesting impromptu karaoke!
More from 5WCoP 2025

Our history

The first-ever 5WCoP followed the last-ever 4WCoP in Swansea 2025. With the closing of 4WCoP, we wanted the spirit of psychogeography to continue, so we promptly started 5WCoP! 4WCoP ran for 10 wonderful years, featuring various events, walks, talks, discussions, workshops, wanders and all sorts! Some of which can be found on YouTube… 4WCoP: Fourth World Congress of Psychogeography – YouTube

Carl Meddings gave a wonderful speech about the history of 4WCoP (and therefore 5WCoP). In the spirit of Debord, we have plagiarised it here.

What on earth is psychogeography?

Good question! Psychogeography is a pretty woolly term, but very simply put, psychogeography looks at how place (usually urban environments) affects people; their emotions, behaviours, perceptions.
Psychogeography = psychology + geography.

Psychogeography is the fact “that you have an opinion about a space the moment you step into it,” says writer and psychogeographer Wilfried Hou Je Bek. We drift together to explore our connection to places in new, creative ways.

More than anything, psychogeographers are looking to explore the effect of a place, a geographical location, on the emotions and psyche of individuals, in a playful and spontaneous manner. We often use wandering aimlessly to find new places and things within public space (often called a ‘Drift’ or ‘Dervie’.)

According to Mr Psychogeography himself, Guy Debord, psychogeography is “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals.”