The McDonald's restaurant group has chosen Barcelona to organize its next annual global convention which, in 2024, will bring together more than 14,000 people from 135 countries, including franchisees, suppliers, and company employees. It is the first time in the fast-food chain's 82-year history that the meeting will be held outside the United States.
The event will coincide with the 30th edition of the convention, which takes place every two years. The last two, in 2018 and 2022 ---because it was not held in 2020 due to covid---, took place in the city of Orlando (Florida).
The company has not specified the details of the event to be held in Barcelona in April 2024, but has argued that the choice responds to "a key city for the chain's business in Europe" and that it will be an opportunity to "demonstrate McDonald's commitment to the international market," the group stated.
McDonald's growth in Spain has been sustained since its arrival in the national territory in the early 80s of the last century. Currently, it has a network of 565 establishments in Spain, 99 of them in Catalonia, generating 22,000 direct jobs. The forecast is to maintain expansion at a rate of between 25 and 30 new locations per year, over the next four fiscal years.
The announcement, made by McDonald's President and CEO, Chris Kempczinski, has been very positively received by the McDonald's System in Spain, where Luis Quintiliano, President of McDonald's Spain, has declared that "it is a source of pride for all of us to host this very important event for the entire McDonald's system worldwide."