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simulators and conversations with sailors, so
that the city might rediscover all the possibilities
of sailing and of the nautical world.
The Village, built in the Port Vell and converted
into the show’s nerve centre, was the place
where businessmen, sportspeople and sailing
lovers came together.
In this context, the show once again acted as a
major sectorial summit at which to debate the
nautical industry in Spain and find ways to meet
new challenges. A palpable example of this is
the agreement reached between the Fira de
Barcelona and the National Nautical Businesses
Association (Associació Nacional d’Empreses
Nàutiques - ANEN) to create a commission
with the task of outlining the basic lines along
which the show will evolve in forthcoming years,
adapting to the needs of exhibitors and visitors
in a changing economic environment committing
itself to increased trade promotion and greater
exposure abroad.
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BarcelonaMeeting Point
International Real-Estate Show
19-23 OCTOBER
MONTJUÏC. 15TH EDITION
Surface area:
25.000 m
2
Exhibitors:
265
Nature:
professional and public
Activities:
Conferences; seminars; awards
Organiser:
Consorci de la Zona Franca
Barcelona Meeting Point, attended by exhibitors
from 19 countries, proved once again that it
constitutes a benchmark event in the Spanish
real-estate sector. According to the organiser,
over a period of five days exhibitors placed
homes on the market that had not seen any
potential purchasers for several months. Indeed,
the event was a major display window that
provided interested visitors with the opportu-
nity to acquire a new home in the best market
conditions at a particularly difficult time for the
real-estate sector.
Over 25,000 experts in the sector visited the
professional show. The edition also featured
a space given over to the general public, in
which real-estate agents from the Barcelona
Metropolitan Area made a considerable number
of homes available at the District Point area.
Another prominent feature of the show was the
Simpòsium, a debate forum attended by the
current Spanish minister for Finances and Com-
petitiveness, Luís de Guindos, as director of the
PricewaterhouseCoopers Finance Centre.
Russia was the guest country on the occasion
of the Spain-Russia Dual Year, which served to
enhance relations between both countries. The
Russian deputy prime minister, Alexander Zhu-
kov, and the then Spanish secretary of state for
Housing and Urban Planning, Beatriz Corredor,
took part in the Russian Meeting Point cluster
and encouraged Russian investors to purchase
holiday homes in this country.
This year, for the first time, the event enjoyed
collaboration on the part of the Professional
Association of Architects of Catalonia. Thirty or
so Catalan studios held work sessions with the
Russian delegation.
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BcnRail 2011
International Railway Industry Show
29 NOVEMBER – 02 DECEMBER
GRAN VIA. 3RD EDITION
Surface area:
9.000 m
2
Exhibitors:
123
Nature:
professional
Activities:
1st International Railway Forum,
BcnRail Innova, international workshops, working
breakfasts organised by the Infrastructures Cir-
cle, International Clusters Associations Seminar
This latest edition of BcnRail, held jointly with
the first Smart City Expo at Pavilion no. 2 on the
Gran Via exhibition center, marked the full con-
solidation of this show as the major exhibition
event for the Spanish railway industry.
Over 6,800 professionals from the sector visited
the Show,whichmade a bid for increased inter-
nationalisation as an added value by which to
facilitate Spanish firms’ access to newmarkets. To
this end, BcnRail organised several international
workshops, at which Brazil’s,Turkey’s, Algeria’s,
Russia’s and India’s investment in railway infra-
structure plans were presented. The exhibitors
included firms fromFrance, Belgium, Germany, the
United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and
Argentina, as well as those fromSpain.
BcnRail also developed its congressional side
by holding the 1st International Railway Forum,
attended by first-class speakers from both
Spain and abroad. At the Forum, major issues
were addressed such as Spain’s connection to
the European Transport Network.
The show, which has become the sector’s
mouthpiece, called for enhancement of public-
private concessions to carry through investment
projects in anticipated railway infrastructures,
projects which had begun to be threatened by
cutbacks applied as a consequence of the reces-
sion. For the sector, the concessions policy is a
highly useful working tool by which to keep to the
schedule of programmed works, regardless of
the economic situation.
+info
The Brandery
Urban and Contemporany Fashion Show
26-28 JANUARY AND 13-15 JULY
MONTJUÏC. 4TH AND 5TH EDITIONS
Surface area:
25.500 m
2
Exhibitors:
147 (January) and 145 (July)
Nature:
professional (January), professional
and public (July)
Activities:
technical seminars, exhibitions,
events, concerts, parades
In 2011, the Urban and Contemporary Fashion
Show,The Brandery, organised by the Fira de Barce-
lonawith the support of the Barcelona City Council,
held two key editionswhichmarked its evolution as
amulti-sectorial trends platformand nurtured core
business focusing on designer clothes.
In January, under the slogan ‘Chances for
Changes’, which denoted business opportunities
and associated changes, the show held its first
fashion parade, at which 22 of the 147 partici-
pating firms presented their latest creations.
Prominent among the show’s attractionswere the
Fashion&Living area and the Fashion&Sport exhi-
bition,where everyday items related to sport were
put on display,designed by themost prestigious
international fashion firms, includingYves Saint
Laurent,Jean Paul Gaultier and Armani.Design
also had a privileged space to itself in theHabitat
Design area,where items by Nani Marquina,BD
Barcelona and Santa&Colewere displayed.
The urban area was the setting for a host of
Activities: the ‘Shoot’n the City’ exhibition,
with 50 pictures by renowned photographers,
located on Passeig de Gràcia; the ‘Fashion Tour
Coca-Cola Light’ show; and the ‘Window on the
Move’ display-window contest, in which over one
hundred Barcelona stores took part.
The Laundry, the ideas laboratory of The
Brandery, attracted coolhunters, bloggers and
experts in the sector, such as Isabel Mesa,
chairperson for Spain and Portugal of Worth
Global Style Network, the leading analysis
and on-line trends forecasting company; and
Javier Nieto, professor at EINA and ESADE and
president of Santa & Cole, who analysed dif-
ferent aspects of the world of fashion.
145 firms, 47%of whichwere international,were
present at the summer edition. In the current
context of economic recession, the Showsought to
support the sector by inviting distributors and exec-
utiveswith high purchasing power to participate
in speed dating sessionswith the exhibiting firms.
168 such sessions took place between 50 firms
and 13 groups from11 countries, such as El Corte
Inglés, the German Peek&Cloppenburg chain, the
StMarteenwomen’s clothing importers fromthe
United States and the RussianBe Fashion chain.
Furthermore, the first Brandtown FashionXperi-
ence, open to the public and featuring concerts,
parades and exhibitions,proved to be a key initia-
tive thanks towhichThe Brandery became the new
hot spot for trends,where public and professionals
took the opportunity to experience fashion together.
Firms like Custo and Superdry took advantage of
Brandtown to make direct contact with their end
customers, and the public enjoyed the parades
organised by 40 of the exhibiting firms as well
as the ‘Barcelona International Fashion Show’,
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