The Alimentaria and Hostelco joint congress, dedicated to the agri-food industry, hospitality, and catering, opened its doors this Monday at the Fira de Barcelona, ​​on the very day that Brussels announced the provisional entry into force of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, a treaty that could change the food sector in the years to come. The congress, which takes place every two years, expects around 110,000 attendees, according to organizers last week. It would surpass both the Mobile World Congress and Integrated Systems Europe in visitors. (ISE), currently the two trade fairs with the highest visitor numbers held in Barcelona. However, unlike these two congresses, where the majority of attendees come from abroad, Alimentaria has a majority of visitors (approximately three out of four) from within Spain.

The Alimentaria and Hostelco trade fair for the agri-food, restaurant, and hospitality industries will increase the number of exhibitors this year compared to the last edition and expects to reach 110,000 visitors, organizers announced on Thursday. With this figure, the event would surpass the total number of visitors to the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and ISE, the two most attended events held this year at Fira de Barcelona. The congress, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, will be held next week at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona, ​​in Hospitalet de Llobregat. In total, it will occupy seven pavilions with an area of ​​100,000 square meters. Organizers have highlighted the international nature of the event. "It will be by far the most international Alimentaria in history," declared Antoni Llorens, president of the trade fair, at the press conference presenting the congress this Thursday. "A congress comes of age when an international visitor comes to visit an international exhibitor, because borders are transcended," added Pere Taberner, president of Hostelco. In total, some 3,300 companies will participate in the 2026 edition, 1,200 of which are from abroad. Thus, the number of exhibitors from outside Spain represents a 30 percent increase compared to the previous edition, although the increase in exhibition space occupied by international companies will be 40 percent.

The Governing Council of the Generalitat has given the green light this Tuesday to the new collaboration agreement between the Catalan executive and the other shareholder entities of Fira 2000 for the financing of the expansion of the Fira de Barcelona venues. Within the agreement, it stands out that the cost of the so-called Hall Zero, the new Fira building at the Gran Via site in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, will increase from the initially planned 200.8 million euros to 365.4 million, as reported by the Generalitat this same Tuesday. This "variation in the budget" for the construction of the building, amounting to nearly 165 million euros, is due to "the increase in construction costs and expropriations, and the built surface area of the project," according to a statement from the Government. The complex, located just opposite the Fira de Barcelona's current venue in L'Hospitalet, will feature an exhibition hall and an office building, and is approximately halfway through construction. The construction of the new Hall Zero pavilion on Gran Via is intended to expand Fira de Barcelona's capacity to host large congresses. Currently, world-class trade fairs such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC), held this week, or ISE, which took place last month, have expressed their desire to remain in the Catalan capital while continuing to grow in visitors and exhibitors, which will require more space. Furthermore, the office tower will initially be occupied by the Generalitat and Fira itself, although the door remains open to renting it out to third parties.

Barcelona Wine Week, the Spanish wine congress held annually in Barcelona, ​​will once again grow this year in terms of exhibitors, visitors, and square footage, organizers announced Wednesday. The sector is meeting at a time of challenges due to climate change, trade tensions between the European Union and the United States, and concerns about declining wine consumption worldwide. A total of 1,351 wineries from across Spain are registered, a 5% increase compared to last year. the 2025 edition and 880 international buyers, 14% more than the previous edition. The fair, which will be held next week from February 2nd to 4th, will occupy 10,900 square meters, 800 more than last year, at the Plaça d'Espanya venue of Fira de Barcelona. With 320 wineries present, Catalonia will be the autonomous community with the largest presence at the event, followed by Castile and León, La Rioja, and Castile-La Mancha.

The Used Car Show will once again fill the Montjuïc fairgrounds with nearly new, pre-owned, and zero-kilometer cars from tomorrow until Monday the 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This event returns after the sudden cancellation of the 2024 edition, but with a change in organization. While the show was organized by Fira de Barcelona and Fecavem, the Catalan automotive distribution association, until the canceled 2024 edition, this 2025 edition is being organized by the Gremi del Motor (Motor Guild). The president of this Guild, Jaume Roura, explained the philosophy behind this organizational change to ARA. "It's not a fair for presenting products, but a show for selling. Exhibitors are there to sell, and the previous organizers were more focused on a presentation show," he explained. According to Roura, the 2024 edition was canceled "because the costs didn't make participation worthwhile for the exhibitors." "We've sought a model better suited to cost reduction," says the president of the Guild.

Barcelona is the fourth city in the world that hosts the most congresses, only after Vienna, Lisbon, and Singapore. This is evident from the data released this Tuesday by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). The attractiveness of Barcelona is on the rise. According to Barcelona Turisme, it has gained a spot on this list compared to last year: it has moved from fifth to fourth place. 125,826 delegates participated, with an approximate economic return of €360 million. In terms of money, London is in second place, followed by Singapore, Madrid, and Vienna. €288 million.

The Seafood Global congress of seafood products and companies, which will be held next month at the Fira de Barcelona, ​​​​hopes to repeat, at least, results similar to those of the last edition, when it brought together some 35,000 visitors and had an economic impact of €156 million, as explained this Thursday by Wynter Courmont, vice president of Diversified, the American company organizing the event.

The Mobile World Congress 2022 was planned as an edition which set the event on the route to full recovery next year; however, the final balance ended up surpassing forecasts. The event closed on Thursday with over 60,000 attendees, after four days of exhibitions and conferences at the Fira de Barcelona exhibition center in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. This volume of congress attendees is over half the number of visitors in 2019 (it was then 110,000) and represents a leap forward compared with the 20,000 attendees last year. That was a hybrid version held to ensure GSMA's survival after 2020's cancelled edition, but this year the fair again saw queues and crowds reminiscent of pre-covid-19 times.

After a minimal edition in 2021 with the aim of saving the franchise, Mobile World Congress wants to return to normality. The CEO of the GSMA (the association of telecommunications companies that organises the event), John Hoffman, presented on Thursday the main lines of this year's event, to be held at the Fira de Barcelona in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat from February 28 to March 3. The most ambitious goal is to recover 55% of pre-pandemic attendance –in 2019 it brought together 109,000 attendees– but it has given more conservative estimates of between 40,000 and 60,000 visitors. The organisers are aware that obstacles to international travel, such as quarantines in some Asian countries, will continue to limit company delegations.

The same announcement has already been repeated three times: in 2020, in 2021 and now in 2022. Sony will not participate in this year's edition of the Mobile World Congress as a result of the pandemic, Cadena SER reported this Thursday. Sources from the Japanese company have explained that this year they will not have a stand at the mobile world fair and are considering whether they will participate in the virtual format to communicate their news.

John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA, the organiser of the Mobile World Congress, confirmed on Thursday that this year's Mobile World Congress will be held in Barcelona from 28 June to 1 July.

Giving out your name: done. Grabbing the FFP2 face mask they hand out to you and putting it one: done. Run your hands through an automatic hydroalcoholic gel dispenser: done. Pick up a small portable gel dispenser: done. Head to the antigen testing area: done. Sign a consent form stating that you have no symptoms of covid, that you have not been in contact with any infected people (that you know of), and that you agree to let them know if you test positive in the next few days, among other things: done. Give your mobile phone so that the system will notify you of the result once the antigen test has been analysed: done. Go through the stick-in-nose issue: done. Waiting for a while in the open air space next door while the result is sent to your mobile phone: done. Show the message stating you are virus-free to the person guarding the access door: done. We finally hear: "Welcome to a safe event!"