More than 500 conferences in one year: Barcelona, from an industrial city to the capital of science and health

BarcelonaSince it landed in Barcelona in 1992, led (and with great efforts) by the world leader in cardiology Valentí Fuster, the congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has been held up to seven times. And thanks to the stubbornness of Dr. Josep Tabernero, everything indicates that the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) – which elected it in 2019 – wants to maintain sine die The Catalan capital is a meeting point for the most relevant research in the field of cancer. Just last year, Barcelona hosted around 560 medical, technological and pharmaceutical conferences – 1,377 in the last decade – and, in fact, there are already at least another 120 confirmed events for 2030.

The Catalan capital has consolidated its role in the world as the capital of health sciences and biotechnology. In a few decades, Barcelona has gone from being a port and industrial city to becoming a scientific hub in Europe and the world thanks to ever larger, more sophisticated and relevant conferences. It is the first city at state level and the fourth in the European Union in scientific production. And those responsible for facilitating this international projection are, to a large extent, the doctors, whom Barcelona Tourism – through the Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB) – has thanked for their work with a dinner at the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) with more than 300 guests.

Obviously, the majority of the attendees were doctors – among them Tabernero and Fuster themselves, although the latter by video call from New York – but there were also representatives of pharmaceutical companies such as Joaquim Uriach or José María Giménez Arnau (Esteve Group), and from the economic and tourism sector, such as the president of the Generalitat; the director of Tourism of Barcelona, ​​​​Mateu Hernández, and the general director of the Barcelona Hotel Guild, ​​Manel Casals.

"You are dedicated not only to making us live better, but to attracting visitors who contribute ideas and knowledge to make the city better, so that we live and work better," Hernández thanked at the opening of the event. Words that were also echoed by the mayor of Barcelona, ​​​​Jaume Collboni, who described the doctors as "drivers of the economy" and promoters of the Catalan capital projecting itself in the world "from reason and science."

Addressing the guests, Collboni recognized them as examples of doctors who "go beyond their profession" and valued their vital commitment to health and the defense of science at a time when "it is an obligation." "In Barcelona we are proud defenders of science and we must continue to be so," he said, praising both the public and private health system and the pharmaceutical industry that is so deeply rooted in Barcelona and Catalan history. He also claimed that, despite not having powers in science, the City Council allocates a budget to promote science through tourism. "As mayor, I ask you to continue studying and working with this sense of transcendence and purpose for the common good; that is what makes us unique," he concluded.

At the head of the three economic engines

As ambassadors of this decisive work to make Barcelona one of the European destinations of reference in terms of medical congresses, Tabernero and Fuster have participated in a round table on the importance of these events for global scientific development. For Fuster, congresses are a source of knowledge that gives rise to cutting-edge research with an effect on the treatment of diseases and the promotion of health. "I have been attending congresses for more than 30 years and, since then, participation has multiplied tenfold. What is done in Barcelona has a great international impact; something is being done well," said Fuster. And, in this sense, he highlighted one of the keys to success: "Barcelona is taking the lead in the three driving forces of an economy: science, health and education."

Tabernero, who joked that these congresses are not organised to "displace and entertain" professionals, but to make innovative bets for the medicine of the future, listed the many virtues of the Catalan capital: it is an attractive city, well endowed with spaces, passionate about . "In addition, the congresses are held in the city itself and not in the outskirts," he added. However, he highlighted a factor that differentiates it from the rest: its biomedical centre is not limited only to faculties and large hospitals, but there is a great connection with research institutes and pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology industries in constant growth.