Nearly 700,000 visitors were welcomed at 19 congresses, whilst 32 fairs were organised by other bodies and 250 events were staged at Feria de Madrid
Madrid, 13th December 2010. The activity level at IFEMA CONVENTIONS AND CONGRESSES throughout the year 2010 was as follows: a total of 19 congresses (almost 12% more than in 2009); 32 externally-organised fairs (which represents an increase of nearly 22%); and 250 events (an increase of almost 3%). These figures confirm an overall favourable performance. We might also highlight the international character of a good number of these congresses, fairs and events, which is very much in line with the internationalisation policy being pursued by IFEMA.
Under the heading of congresses we can observe the worldwide and/or European scope of some of these events. This was certainly the case of the Eleventh EFORT European Congress staged by the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, EFORT. The aim of this body is to promote mobility, muscular and skeletal health and the quality of life of its patients. This Congress provided the framework for the staging of the following events: the Forty-Seventh Secot Congress (Congress of the Spanish Society for Orthopaedic and Traumatological Surgery; the Esri Congress 2010, organised by Esri España, the company specialising in geographic information systems (GIS); and the Third Esteve International Symposium on Analgesia; and the Fifth Implantology Update Conferences.
Other congresses included the following: the Conference “Visions and Objectives for Biodiversity Beyond 2010”, organised by Fundación Biodiversidad; the; Tenth Spanish ITS Congress – Intelligent Transport Systems; the Technomarketing Congress; Expomanagement 2010 – HSM; the Datacenter Dynamics Congress; the Third Congress on Risks at Work; the Manager Forum – Interban Network Congress; the First European Congress on Tourism and Gastronomy; the Expocida National Congress; Call Center Ifaes; and the First National Congress for Thermomix Fans.
The year 2010 also witnessed a significant rise in the number of fairs organised by other bodies, specifically an increase of almost 22%, coming to 32 fairs in total. The traditional fairs were complemented by the consolidation of other fairs at our facilities, such as MARCA BLANCA, OMEXPO and TOTAL MEDIA.
Other externally-organised fairs that took place at IFEMA’s facilities for the first time included Game Fest, Expoenvíen and Health Ingredients (the latter an itinerant event).
Furthermore, the 12 exhibition halls, 3 auditoriums and numerous rooms and spaces of all kinds at Feria de Madrid constitute one of the fairground’s characteristic features. This versatility enables IFEMA to host the staging of all kinds of presentations, meetings, assemblies, conferences, sporting activities and other events. Specifically, throughout the course of the year 2010 a total of 250 events took place at our facilities, which is to say, approximately 3% more than in the year 2009. Out of these events, some 125 corresponded to fairs organised by IFEMA, whilst 53 corresponded to fairs staged by external organisers.
Among these events, undoubtedly the most important was the Fifth European Union – Latin America & Caribbean Summit, which represented the cherry on the cake regarding IFEMA’s activities during the first half of 2010, which was when Feria de Madrid provided the venue for the Permanent Module of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union.
Other equally important events included the following: the Third Indirect Channel Convention and the Fifth Summit of TELEFÓNICA Managers; the presentation of the film, “Alice in Wonderland”; the Reverencia – Cadre Noir Horse Show; the General Shareholders Meeting for ACS; the First Gaming 360 Conference & Exhibition; Pilates Day – Pilates Wellness & Energy; the presentation of the new SLS and E-Class Cabriolet models from Mercedes Benz; the Pokemon Championship; the Fonavi Referendum; the SAGE España Convention; the Thermomix Masterclass; the Banesto Managers Convention; the International Conference on Software Testing & Quality, EXPOQA; the Fifteenth Internal Auditing Conferences; the Special Shareholders Meeting for Prisa; the elections for the Confederation of Spanish Industry (CEOE); the Repsol Managers Convention; the Paddle Tennis Pro Masters Tour 2010; and the MSD Communication Conferences.
Forecasts for the Year 2011
Following the favourable results last year, IFEMA regards the current year 2011 with a sense of optimism. With regard to its activities linked to the world of congresses, conventions and other events, various important dates have already been set: the Twenty-Seventh National Hospitals Congress (26th to 29th April); the First Forum on Obesity and Healthy Life Styles (10th to 12th June); Russia – Spain Science Conference & Exhibition (14th to 17th June); EHRA 2011 – EUROPACE (26th to 29th June); ESRI European User Conference (26th to 28th October); the Trade Meeting for the Hardware Industry, EHLIS (26th to 28th October); and Sapphire NOW 2011 & Tech Ed. 2011, a corporate event that will take place between 7th and 10th November and is expected to welcome between 6,000 and 7,000 people.
With regard to externally-organised fairs, we might highlight the staging of a number of new events: an event on modern catering, Restauración Moderna, (16th and 17th February); E-Commretail, the First Trade Show for Electronic Commerce and Online Business (26th and 27th October); and the joint staging of E-COMMERCE ESPAÑA, the Electronic Commerce Fair and Congress alongside OMEXPO (16th and 17th March). Furthermore, we might mention the return of MRO AVIATION WEEK to Madrid (28th and 29th September), given that this event took place at IFEMA in 2008, and the staging of MADRID FOTO (5th to 8th May).
