Barcelona is the world's number one city for convention attendees

Barcelona reaffirms its leadership as a city for fairs and congresses. The Catalan capital received 135,000 congress attendees in 2022, a figure that places the city in the first position of the world ranking, ahead of Vienna (105,000) and followed by Paris, Lisbon, Milan, and London. Madrid occupies the 8th position, with 59,000 delegates.

This was stated this Tuesday by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), which has published the sectoral ranking within the framework of IMEX, the fair for the congress and convention sector (MICE) that is being held this week in Frankfurt. According to the ICCA, Barcelona also occupies a prominent position in the ranking of the best cities according to the number of congresses held. Specifically, it is part of the Top 5 of main MICE destinations, occupying the 4th position, after Vienna, Lisbon, and Paris. This ranking only counts international congresses that rotate between three countries and have at least 50 delegates. Therefore, important congresses such as MWC or ISE are excluded.

Thus, in 2022, in a sector already in full recovery after the pandemic, Vienna was the city chosen for 162 congresses, compared to the 144 held in Lisbon, the 134 in Paris, and the 133 in Barcelona. In fifth position is Prague, with 129 MICE events. "Barcelona is the first non-capital city of a state, and the first in all of Spain that has organized the most congresses in 2022, thus accumulating more than 20 consecutive years in the Top 5 of international congresses," highlights Turisme de Barcelona, present at the fair through its own stand of the Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB). This fourth place represents an ascent of one position compared to 2021, when the Catalan capital was in fifth place. It should be remembered that in 2017, the best in the city's history in this field, Barcelona was the first global destination with 195 congresses.

Regarding the ranking by number of delegates, Barcelona became the leader of the sector precisely in 2017, when, with 160,000 congress attendees, it surpassed Vienna (115,000). Since that year, the city has led this ranking, except in 2020, a totally atypical year for the sector as a result of the pandemic. The number of delegates accumulated in the last decade exceeds one million. "More than 60% of congress attendees assure that the city chosen as the venue for the congress decisively influences their decision to participate," highlights Turisme de Barcelona.

"The global recognition of Barcelona as a congress venue puts us back on the map as one of the leading destinations in event organization and also in scientific and technological excellence, which makes us a very attractive city for the entire health sector," argued the president of the executive committee of Turisme de Barcelona, Eduard Torres, in reference to the impetus and specialization that Barcelona is gaining in the field of scientific and technological congresses. After congratulating the entire BCB team, Torres highlighted the strategic importance of congresses for the return they generate to the city and its economic fabric. "This recognition reinforces the success of the Barcelona model in public-private collaboration. The Barcelona brand is strong," he remarked.

Along the same lines, the director of the BCB, Christoph Tessmar, stressed that Barcelona "is a resilient, professional, and very attractive destination for MICE, and these ICCA results demonstrate it, especially with the first position, one more year, in the number of delegates."

Ranking by number of delegates 2022

1. Barcelona. 135,000
2. Vienna. 105,000
3. Paris. 101,000
4. Lisbon. 87,562
5. Milan. 77,969

1.  Vienna. 162
2. Lisbon. 144
3. Paris. 134
4. Barcelona. 133
5. Prague. 129