After a very positive year in 2014, the Barcelona International Convention Centre closed last year having hosted 111 events, with revenue up 3%.
BARCELONA – The Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) closed 2015 having hosted a total of 111 events, just short of the all-time record achieved in 2014. Nevertheless, the Barcelona-based centre welcomed 479,191 visitors, up 20.95% from the previous year.
The venue’s revenue also continued on the upward trend, increasing by 3% to a total of 29.8 million euros. CCIB Managing Director Marc Rodriguez says, “The figures for 2015 confirm the positive results seen last year and reflect our improved services and processes, as well as the satisfaction of our clients, so we expect to continue growing in 2016.”
The positive evolution of the CCIB has helped make Barcelona one of the top ranked business destinations in the world, not to mention its economic impact on the city, which in 2014 hit more than 3 billion euros cumulative since it was created in 2004.
International events, most from the United Kingdom, the United States and Central Europe (40% of all those held), made up 90.9% of revenue last year. Despite the notable international projection of the venue, the number of national events also increased considerably, a trend that will hopefully continue over the coming year.
On the other hand, the renewed confidence of CCIB clients can be clearly seen in the percentage of events that returned in 2015, which make up 30.63% of all those held and 53.53% of revenue.
An exceptional November and some noteworthy events
November was the most active month of the year, with a total of 12 events and 40,000 delegates and visitors, which is an all-time record for the venue for a single month. Noteworthy international events include those hosted by large technology companies: Gartner ITXpo Symposium (7,500 professional visitors and 136 exhibitors), 2015 Docker Conference (1,700 participants) and the in-house European meeting for digital games company King, creator of the popular Candy Crush, among others. Two of the events with the greatest media coverage both took place in the same month: the 62nd annual ceremony of the Ondas Awards and the 2014-15 LPF Awards (Spanish Professional Football League), both of which were held for the first time in the CCIB Auditorium with numerous well-known figures from the world of entertainment and sports.
Also in the world of sports, following the success of the 2014 event, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final once again saw the CCIB exhibition area transformed into a temporary 1,800-m2 ice rink surrounded by stands with 5,500 seats. The audience once again surpassed the organisers’ expectations, with more than 90% of seats full over the three days of competition (a total of 30,000 spectators). This edition also included the first final of synchronised skating, with the five top classifiers from the 2015 World Championship, laying the first stone to get this event included in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.
Additionally, the auditorium once again held concerts and shows by renowned figures on the international scene, such as Diana Krall and Nick Cave. It will continue to do so in 2016 with concerts by Les Luthiers, Il Divo, Sergio Dalma and the Orquesta Buenavista Social Club, among others.
Another of the important events of 2015 was CineEurope, the annual gathering of European film professional, which was held at the CCIB for the fourth year running. Over four days, the more than 3,000 professional visitors that attended had the chance to see the latest productions from 11 film studios in Hollywood and Europe, which will be coming soon to cinemas around the world, and to attend sponsored events, seminars and round tables discussing the sector, as well as visiting the tradeshow devoted to products and services for cinematographic exhibitors. The event will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2016, and will do so in the Catalan capital, where it will be held at least through 2017.
In terms of tradeshows and fairs, the CCIB continues to host STS Beauty, with a total of 63,000 visitors, Fira Magic, Expopell and Security Forum, among others. All of these have also confirmed they will be returning to the venue in 2016. New last year was InteriHOTEL, the largest interior design showroom for hotels in southern Europe, which will be held at the CCIB again this June.
Despite the significance of corporate events this past year, the CCIB continues to host the most important scientific and medical congresses in Europe and the world. These included, for example, the Annual Congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), which brought together more than 7,500 scientists and researchers in October; the annual congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), the largest and most important event in the world on this subject, which welcomed 9,300 delegates and recognised the importance of the MS research being done in Spain and more specifically in Catalonia; the 3rd ESTRO Forum, a biyearly event considered to be the largest European congress in radiation oncology, with 5,000 participants; the 15th European AIDS Conference, which brought together 4,000 researchers and announced the most important scientific breakthroughs in treatment, like the possible therapeutic vaccine starting clinical trials at Hospital Clinic Barcelona and the Institute for AIDS Research (IrsiCaixa) in 2016; and the World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer (GI Cancer), which held its eleventh consecutive edition at the CCIB in 2015, with total attendance of 3,000 delegates.
As occurred in 2014 with the previous model, and continuing with the selected venue, in 2015 Samsung chose the CCIB to host Unpacked, the global launch of the Galaxy S6. The South-Korean firm’s new high-end smartphone was presented at the same time as the Mobile World Congress was held in Barcelona.
2016 forecast
The CCIB expects to continue improving in 2016, with revenue up 4% from 2015. Just as with revenue, the number of visitors is also expected to rise, reaching more than half a million people, which is a realistic goal considering the current confirmation figures. The percentage of repeat events will hit 36% in 2016 and the recovery of the corporate sector can also be confirmed, very clearly in the international arena though also notable in terms of national events, the number of which has increased in all segments. These factors make up a solid foundation for maintaining sustained market growth over the coming years.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
