Barcelona loses the race to host the most important space congress in the world

BarcelonaBarcelona falls just short of hosting the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the world's leading space congress, in 2029. The Barcelona bid was not selected by the organization to host the event, which will ultimately go to Geneva. It should be remembered that the Catalan capital was competing against the Swiss city and Houston to be the host of the event organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). The decision was made this very Friday in Antalya, where this year's edition of the IAC is being held.

The Barcelona bid, which was endorsed and promoted by the Catalan and Spanish governments, arrived at the space event with 177 international endorsements, of which up to 77 came from members of the organizing association. Among the most prominent supporters were organizations such as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). Also from various national space agencies, among which the French, British, and Brazilian ones stood out.

In a post on her LinkedIn social media account, the Government's Secretary for Digital Policies, Maria Galindo, congratulated the Geneva bid and thanked the IAF "for its leadership and commitment to fostering international cooperation" in the space sector. According to Galindo, although the decision did not favor Barcelona, the country "will continue working to strengthen the space ecosystem, promote international collaboration, and turn bold ideas into projects with significant impact".

Institutional support

The bid to host the IAC 2029 was co-led by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Government of Spain, through the Spanish Space Agency (AEE), and the Department of Business and Labour of the Government of Catalonia. A large institutional delegation had travelled to this year's congress, headed by the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, and the Minister of Business and Labour, Miquel Sàmper. The institutions had also highlighted the support of several relevant companies in the Catalan and Spanish aerospace sector, such as Indra, Hispasat, Open Cosmos and Sateliot.

Sàmper defended "the quality of the bid", as well as "the collaboration between different administrations and institutions with the aim that Barcelona hosts the most important space congress in the world". For his part, Hereu claimed Barcelona's capacity as a congress-organizing city: "It makes them its own and returns them enhanced". Despite the effort that the administrations at all levels have dedicated to it, however, the Barcelona proposal has not managed to prevail. The IAC brings together nearly 15,000 congress participants each year, including representatives from space agencies, start-ups and the industry as a whole, and is held each year in a different country, with a local organizer per edition.