The Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) took the Silver prize for the Best Overseas Conference Centre in the Meetings & Incentive Travel Industry Awards (M&IT Awards). The Barcelona complex came close second to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco (France), who took the gold prize and has beaten off challenges for this prestigious award from other large international venues, such as Cape Town International Centre (South Africa) or the Dubai World Trade Centre (United Arab Emirates).

The award ceremony for these international prizes took place on Monday 11 February, in the Novotel London West, London, and was attended by over 600 of the industry’s professionals from all over the world. In his acceptance speech, GL Events CCIB Managing Director, Jesus Alvarez Gallego, said, “we are enormously satisfied to have received this recognition for the second year running; especially coming from clients and professionals from our own industry”.

Alvarez added that the award “puts the finishing touch to a 2007 in which we have experienced a spectacular increase in the number of events and delegates, in turnover, and in our economic contribution to the city of Barcelona”.

Last year the CCIB took bronze in this same category of the M&IT Awards and it also received last year's International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) award for the best technologically equipped conference centre in the world.