Spain
Madrid’s fair COP, and society to benefit
EW takes a close look at Madrid’s big organiser/venue beast, IFEMA, and how it is reinvesting
in its formula for event and economic success for its community and beyond
ince its creation in
1980, IFEMA, one
of Madrid’s major
pillars of business
and a point of reference within
the international tradefair
circuit, has played an important
role as a driver of the local
economy and business activity.
IFEMA is a consortium
created by the Madrid City
Council, the Community
of Madrid, the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and
the Montemadrid Foundation.
It hosts more than 700 events a
year across most sectors.
The portfolio includes two
venues but also embraces
120 specialised tradefairs and
conferences, and the IFEMA
management reckons that
events over the years at the
venue have generated €20bn
of economic impact for the
community of Madrid.
Today’s numbers are also
pointing in the right direction,
with IFEMA turning over
€138.5m in 2018 (17% more
than the previous year), with
an EBITDA of €27.7m (+ 23%),
and net profit doubling to reach
€10.8m.
Venues
IFEMA has two venues in the
Spanish capital: Feria de Madrid,
with 200,000sqm of exhibition
space, which handles four
million visitors annually; and
IFEMA Palacio Municipal with
its 30,000sqm of event space and
auditorium able to seat 1,812.
These spaces will be joined by
a new site by 2023 - the IFEMA
Valdebebas expansion. This is
a project which will require
€180m of investment, funding
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
that, we are told, will come from
IFEMA’s own resources. The
project will mean the addition of
80,000sqm of built surface area,
111,000sqm of parking space,
and 64,600sqm of outdoor areas.
To meet obligations under
the ambitious growth plan
that IFEMA has set itself will
mean achieving €200m in
annual revenues in 2022 – a
considerable jump from this
year’s figures.
There is also investment
in services and connectivity.
Indeed, the entire Wi-Fi
connection in Feria de Madrid
is being overhauled, allowing
for up to 64,000 simultaneous
connections and 2,000 antennas
installed.
IFEMA is already Spain’s
first venue powered by 5G
thanks to a new Vodafone 5G
commercial network at the
Feria de Madrid facilities. The
new system allows speeds of
up to 1Gbps and is part of an
agreement that encourages
the research and development
of Fundación IFEMA Lab
projects, which management
says is also evidence of
IFEMA’s commitment to digital
transformation in the exhibition
business.
The security threat is ever-
present in our modern world
and an access control system at
Feria de Madrid, where 92 steel
and impact resistance bollards
will help control access for more
than 700,000 vehicles per year,
is another major investment.
Important international
events
Major exhibition highlights
include FITUR, the
International Tourism Trade
Fair, which sees 10,487
companies from 165 countries
and regions taking part, in
addition to more than 253,000
visitors. The economic impact
from this event alone is
estimated at €325m.
International tradeshow
for the fruit and vegetable
industry, FRUIT ATTRACTION
drew 1,770 companies from 58
countries for its last edition and
is a big contributor to boosting
the sector’s growth in Spain.
Other powerful international
event brands at the IFEMA
facilities include ARCOmadrid,
ARCOlisboa, and Mercedes-Benz
Fashion Week Madrid.
IFEMA is also active as an
international organiser, with
EULAR, the European League
against Rheumatism (15,000
attendees); EADV, the Congress
of the European Association of
Dermatology and Venereology
(10,000 attendees); ERS, the
International Congress of
the European Respiratory
Society (18,000 attendees), and
the WATM World Air Traffic
Management Congress (9,000
attendees) major clients and all
with attendant exhibitions.
Such activity helped Madrid
climb to third place in ICCA’s
world ranking of convention-
hosting cities.
Answering the COP25
emergency challenge
IFEMA showed its capabilities
when it stepped in to take on the
production, in a record time of
18 days, of the United Nations’
World Climate Summit (COP25).
Feria de Madrid welcomes
25,000 visitors from 200
countries for COP25, 2-13
December, after Santiago in
Chile had to pull out due to
street protests and security
concerns.
COP25 is set to occupy 50%
of the venue’s floor space,
with over 100,000sqm spread
over seven halls, the North
Convention Centre, and various
other meeting rooms.
IFEMA is also opening new
business lines, including the
HANGAR 52, magic shows and
various festivals.
Issue 6 2019
39