Summary
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Leading shows,
interesting activities
at Hostelco and
Alimentaria. Below,
the chef Joan Roca,
considered one of the
best in the world,
at the international
food and drink show.
à
The MWCB helps
to promote
entrepreneurship and
innovation through
4YFN and other
permanent initiatives.
Other fairs that merit special mention also
include Hostelco, which featured the Fòrum
Gastronòmic (Gastronomic Forum), as part of
Barcelona Hosting Week; Bizbarcelona, devoted
to entrepreneurship and business; Tourism;
shows devoted to Comic and Manga; MIHealth
Forum, specialising in new challenges in the
health sector; the International Logistics and
Maintenance Exhibition; Caravaning; and, finally,
Sónar, an internationally-famous music festival
that brings together leisure, technological
innovation and business.
The year was also marked by the inclusion in
Fira de Barcelona’s own portfolio of Barcelona
Bridal Week, which features the Noviaespaña
show and the Passarel·la Gaudí Núvies and is
a leading international event in the wedding
fashion industry.
Other new shows generated by emerging
economic and social demand included
Handmade Festival Barcelona, which focuses on
growing interest in handicraft activities, and XD
Young, devoted to the world of young people,
an event that coincides with the Festival de la
Infància Children’s Festival, which takes place at
year’s end.
A platform to the world
Amongst the major international fairs promoted
by other operators, the most outstanding include,
particularly, the Mobile World Congress, staged
by GSM Association, with Fira de Barcelona
playing a leading role in its organisation. The 2014
edition of the MWC brought together 85,000
high-level professional participants and more
than 1,800 companies from 200 countries, testing
the institution’s organisational and technological
capacity. For the first time, both the Gran Via
and Montjuïc venues were occupied. Whilst
Gran Via hosted the congress proper, Montjuïc
was the venue for 4YFN, a meeting of mobile
communications entrepreneurs, promoted by
Mobile World Capital Barcelona. This initiative is
aimed at converting Barcelona into a reference
for the economic and social transformation
generated by mobile technology, driving the
development of the business sector in Barcelona,
Catalonia and Spain as a whole. The main MWC
programmes focus on entrepreneurship, health,
education and urban services.
We should also mention the organisation of
the EIBTM, a world leading in tourism business
events, whose name will change to IBTM World
in 2015.
Fira de Barcelona’s important role as an
international business platform was also
reinforced with the celebration of travelling
shows and professional meetings, leading
events in their respective sectors. These include
Passenger Terminal Expo, which specialises
in passenger air terminal technology and
design, and which had previously taken place
