Barcelona, a global convention destination
This year, Barcelona is hosting a total of 16 major conventions with more than 2,000 representatives, according to data provided by the Convention Bureau of the Barcelona Tourism Office. Information technology, technology, medicine, and health are some of the main fields covered by these events.
The most important convention and the one with the strongest repercussion is the Mobile World Congress, which took place in February. This year’s edition had a record number of attendees—more than 100,000—and welcomed 2,200 companies from 204 countries. Throughout the event, Barcelona positioned itself at the forefront of technology with first-rate conferences and presentations of products that will set this year’s trends.
Other important conventions include the Euro Attractions Show, the Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine-EANM, and the Annual Congress of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society –CIRSE. November will mark the IBTM, which is a must for leaders of the global incentives and events industry.
In addition to the major conventions, 2016 will also include a large number of trade shows. Some of the most popular are Alimentaria, Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, B- Travel, Motoh! Barcelona, the Barcelona International Comic Fair, Cosmobelleza, Denim Fashion International, Denim fashion Week, CPhI Worldwide, and the International Boat Show.
| Month | Name | Representatives |
| February | 101,000 | |
| April | APG – SEG CONGRESS 2016 – SOCIETY OF EXPLORATION GEOPHYSICISTS | 3,000 |
| April | 9,500 | |
| May | EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF SPORTS TRAUMATOLOGY, KNEE SURGERY AND ARTHOROSCOPY- ESSKA | 4,000 |
| May | 2nd EUROPEAN STROKE ORGANISATION CONFERENCE – ESOC 2016 | 3,000 |
| May | 2,500 | |
| June | 3,200 | |
| August | AMEE – ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION IN EUROPE 2016 | 3,500 |
| September | ANNUAL CONGRESS OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR AND INTERNATIONAL RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY – CIRSE 2016 | 6,500 |
| September | 8,000 | |
| October |
| 5,000 |
| October | ANNUAL CONGRESS OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR AND INTERVENCIONAL RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY – CIRSE 2016 | 6,000 |
| November | 4,000 | |
| November | 2,500 | |
November | IBTM WORLD 2016 | 15,000 |
| December | NIPS CONFERENCE 2016 – Annual Conference on Neuronal Information Processing System | 3,000 |
Barcelona remains committed to social innovation projects
Internally, the aim is to promote the city as a destination for conventions related to emerging industries such as social innovation, sustainability, energy efficiency, mobility, etc., while positioning the city as a reference for business tourism through the strategy of attracting major international conferences and offering the city’s appeal to those events.
Smart City Expo will return to Barcelona in November along with trends in the field of urban innovation and the latest smart city concepts that cover public services, the environment, mobility, infrastructures, communications, tourism, research, and innovation.
Shotl has been present at several editions as a smart mobility project aimed at reducing the environmental impact while helping citizens get around easily and conveniently. The goal of a smart city is to evolve and reinvent itself towards an increasingly sustainable, human and collaborative concept in which citizen participation and involvement are essential.
An event related to sustainability and energy efficiency with a technological focus is the iWater trade show that covers the entire water cycle as well as its recycling, management, and consumption. It aims to position itself as the international benchmark event in this field. Another example is European Utility Week, which brings together energy professionals and businesses to present the industry’s latest trends and innovations.
