FIRA DE BARCELONA
| REPORTS 2012
and following emergent artists. It also creates
opportunities for emerging or little-known galleries,
as well as for artists and curators who are just
beginning their careers.
This event hosted 16 more galleries than the
2011 event, coming from different countries.
Cooperation with some international fairs, such as
«Preview Berlin: The Emerging Art Fair», allowed
the show to feature works from galleries in
Germany, England and the United States, as well
as Spain, Russia, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic,
Latvia, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil,
China and Japan.
In line with the event’s philosophy, MYFAF
(My First Art Fair) continued. This initiative was
created in 2011 in order to give young galleries
the opportunity to present its programme
for the first time in a trade fair. On this occasion,
the galleries selected came from Barcelona,
Madrid, Berlin and Siena. In turn, the Arts
Projects featured works by artists represented
by Spanish, Portuguese and German galleries,
while the Swab Off section scheduled
parallel activities.
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Tourism (SITC)
International Tourism Show in Catalonia
20-22/04
MONTJUÏC. 21ST EVENT
Area:
37,000 m
2
Exhibitors:
1,094
Type:
professional and public
Activities:
wine tasting, food tasting, folklore
displays, professional sessions: ACAV Workshop,
Smart Destinations Forum, Meeting of Young
Hotel Owners.
20
Mediterranean destinations
Catalan citizens do not give up travelling, but they
have changed their habits in order to cope with
the recession: they make shorter journeys and
pick up closer destinations. This is what the 2012
SITC event revealed, while consolidating its offer
of new touristic formats that allow travellers to
enjoy tailor-made holidays.
In this sense, the Mediterranean, which is
the world’s most touristic region with more
than 200 million travellers a year, played a
significant part by presenting more than 20
destinations, featuring the Spanish coasts,
France, Greece, Croatia, Israel, Turkey and
“Arab Spring” countries like Algeria, Tunisia or
Egypt. In addition to cruises, discounts from
travel agencies and desert adventures, also very
popular were the products related to camping,
as well as sports, sustainable, gastronomic and
wine tourism, all of which enjoyed a space of
their own for the first time.
Wine tasting was one of the most successful
Activities: more than 600 litres of wine were
consumed, from denominations Penedès,
Rioja, Jerez and Txacolí. Also very successful
were the food tastings and folklore displays
from several countries, which allowed visitors
to enjoy a world of experiences without
leaving Barcelona.
The show also hosted professional sessions, like
the Smart Destinations Forum, which attracted
companies, institutions and expert promoters of
a more innovative, responsible and sustainable
tourism. Also relevant was the ACAV Workshop and
the Meeting of Spanish Young Hotel Owners, spaces
designed to think about and discuss the latest
trends in the sector.
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CONGRESSES
AND OTHER EVENTS
The importance of cloud computing
Besides the aforementioned shows, the Montjuïc
and Gran Via venues held other trade fair events
in 2012, for example EiG and BAC from the
online gaming sector; Moving Outlet Show, from
the field of fashion; and BCN & Cake, devoted to
creative pastry.
As far as congresses and meetings are concerned,
worthy of special mention is the fifth celebration of
VM World, Organised by leading cloud computing
company VMware. The event which gathered
8,000 experts and 120 partner companies in Fira
de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, covered a rough
area of more than 110,000 m
2
.
This was the first time that the European edition of
the event was held in Spain, having previously been
celebrated in Copenhagen (Denmark) and Nice
(France). Annually, it is also held at the same time
in Las Vegas (USA).
Other congresses
Worthy of note is that the Palau de Congressos in
Barcelona was the venue for the 6th Urban Research
Symposium, Organised by the World Bank. Other
participants included the Barcelona City Council and
the United Nations, who discussed urban growth
models, economic and energetic efficiency, social
equity, housing, transportation and employment.
Furthermore, the 13th International Conference
on Home Mechanical Ventilation was held,
on the same dates as the IV European
Respiratory Care Association Congress. Both
organizations share the same interest in
information diffusion, knowledge and sharing
their experience to improve the respiratory
conditions of home patients.
Other important congresses and meetings were:
· Disability and Employment Conference
· AVEPA National Congress – Southern European
Veterinary Conference
· 2012 Medical Update Conference, by the
Academy of Medical and Social Sciences
of Cataluña and Baleares.
· Jornadas Llongueras
Apart from the shows and events, Fira de
Barcelona hosted more than 70 corporate actions
by companies, financial institutions, schools and
political parties. Numerous advertising campaigns
were filmed in the various Fira venues, alongside
photography sessions and parades.
Sports and popular culture
Events relating to music, culture, sports and
leisure have taken place in the Fira venues.
These are worthy of special mention, namely
due to the impact they have had on the citizens
of Barcelona.
With regards to sporting events, some of races
scheduled in the annual Barcelona race calendar,
took place in the Fira venues. The Barcelona
Marathon for example, together with the traditional
Jean Bouin race, and the vintage car rally, Rally
Costa Brava. As for the city’s popular celebrations,
worthy of note were the events related to the Mercè
festivities and the Epiphany parade.
Sónar Festival
In 2012, the Gran Via venue once again
played host to the evening concerts of Sónar,
Barcelona's International Festival of Advanced
Music and New Media Art, organized by Advanced
Music. The event, held from the 14th to the 16th
of June, attracted close to 98,000 visitors in
total, an estimated 64,000 of which attended the
evening sessions. Daytime activities, exhibitions
and other events were also held at the CCCB and
MACBA museums.
Sónar has become renowned worldwide for its
apt combination of vanguard art and experimental
electronic music, and for the fact that the cities of
Reykjavik, Sao Paulo and Tokyo also play host to
this event. In Barcelona, 60% of the audience is
international.
It is worth mentioning that the 2013 Sónar daytime
sessions will move to the Montjuïc venue of Fira de
Barcelona, thus concentrating all of the activities of
this important festival.
Harley Days
Another important popular event held at the
Montjuïc venue is the Barcelona Harley Days,
which has become the most important European
meeting for enthusiasts of the American iconic
motorbike brand.
From 6 to 8 July, thousands of motorcyclists and
enthusiasts enjoyed several events: demo rides,
customization contests on the Custom Bike Show,
guided tours, merchandising, exhibitions of the
latest models, rock concerts and an impressive
country music party, the biggest ever thrown
in Spain.
One of the major events was, as every year,
the traditional 13 km flag parade through
Barcelona’s streets, starting and finishing
in the Montjuïc venue.
The TV3 Marathon
In May 2012, Palace number 1 of the Montjuïc
venue became a huge call centre for a special
edition of TV3’s Marathon, devoted to fundraising
in order to help the fight against poverty. More
than 4.5 million euros were raised and destined
to projects carried out by social third sector
entities. These entities included areas of
assistance, housing, socio-occupational insertion
and children’s issues.
