This special issue is based on papers presented at the seventh annual conference of the International Place Branding Association (IPBA), held in Helsingborg, Sweden, in October 2023. The conference was co-organised by three universities: Lund University, Halmstad University and Kristianstad University. Themed Place Branding in Times of Crisis and Uncertainty, the conference brought together more than 150 participants from around the world and “is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best IPBA conferences yet”, as IPBA Chairman Robert Govers wrote in his introductory remarks (Cassinger et al., 2023, p. 14).