Hannah Fletcher and Marcus Whitfield share their insights from the ICANN85 Community Forum, held in Mumbai, India, from 7 to 12 March 2026. More than 1,500 people attended in person, and the meeting's agenda was dominated by preparations for the 2026 round of new gTLDs.
At the meeting the ICANN Board adopted the 2026 Base Registry Agreement, and ICANN ran information sessions on the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round. We explain what this means for brand owners.
We will be covering the following topics: