The Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona will become, from November 27 to 30, the largest global showcase for the swimming pool and wellness market, bringing together 360 exhibitors from 30 countries. More sustainable, healthy, and experiential facilities, solutions, and technologies will be exhibited throughout the more than 40,000 square meters that the Piscina&Wellness show will occupy, which has increased its commercial area by 54% compared to the previous edition, held in 2021.
The main companies in the sector will participate in the show, organized by Fira de Barcelona with the support of the Spanish Association of Pool Sector Professionals (Asofap). It will include both national and international companies, which will exhibit products for both residential and public pools, as well as equipment, facilities, and accessories in the field of wellness, spa, and fitness, as well as outdoor decoration.
These products and solutions will be exhibited in an edition that has registered a record level of internationality: 68% of companies and brands are international. The reason? Spain is the fourth country in the world and the second in Europe with the largest number of swimming pools: it has more than 1.3 million units. Thus, the Spanish market is key for international manufacturers and distributors, who connect with demand through the Barcelona show. Behind Spain, the countries with the most representation at the show are China, France, Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Belgium, and Germany. Among the exhibitors are leading firms in the sector, such as Fluidra, Hayward, Fairland, Productos QP, Emaux, Aquavia Spa, Eurospas, and PHNX. Also Superior Wellness, CGT Alkor, Fix a Leak, Action Park Waterscapes, ATH – BWT, Espa, Construcciones Condal, Rosa Gres, Grupo Baeza, Ercros, Renolit, Basecrete, and Gresmanc, in addition to Iber Coverpool, Inffinitty, Superior Wellness, Hisom, K7 Rekker, Lifestylegarden, Lightpro, and Visendum.
Saving energy, reducing water consumption, and digitizing pool maintenance are some of the objectives that are setting trends in the sectorRegardless of their origin, the most represented sectors in the hall will be pool construction; the wellness-spa; coatings, purification with pumps and filters, and water treatment. Also on display will be prefabricated pool shells, recreational aquatic installations, covers, lighting, and outdoor furniture, among many elements that make up the field of swimming pools and wellness. All will share a transversal vector: sustainability and the reduction of the environmental footprint.
So much so, that the Piscina&Wellness show this year features a novelty: all the pools and spas on display will be filled with treated seawater. This consists of a sustainable alternative promoted by a company that employs people with disabilities and extracts water from the sea without harming the environment or interfering with other maritime activities. This treated and vitalized seawater has a useful life of six years, including that of the show: when the event ends, the nearly 400 cubic meters that will fill the fair's pools will be collected and reused in aquatic facilities or in fire extinguishing ponds.
This will not be the only measure with which the show seeks to reduce its environmental impact. To offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the organization of the event and the travel and participation of speakers, the show will finance the planting of more than 1,000 trees in various reforestation projects. Coordinated by Tree Nation, trees will be planted in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Thailand, India, Portugal, and also Spain. In addition, the event will use recycled carpet and return materials to suppliers for a second life, among other measures.
The best sustainable and connected solutions from exhibitors will be concentrated in the Innovation Zone area, and will compete for the Piscina&Wellness Barcelona Awards. More than twenty proposals have been included in this selection, which includes products such as an intelligent robot for waste removal that runs on solar energy; a spa for five people with integrated loungers; quieter and more efficient pool pumps, and water purifiers that reduce the use of chemicals by up to 85%. Saving energy, reducing water consumption, and digitizing pool maintenance are some of the objectives that are setting trends.
Pools with a social role
The show will host for the first time an event to promote debate on the role of swimming pools and their contribution to social and environmental challenges on a global scale. The Pool Horizons Summit will echo social transformation projects with the swimming pool as a central element. Under the question of whether a swimming pool can contribute to transforming a community, this conference has been promoted by the multinational companies in the sector Fluidra, Hayward and Pentair, with the collaboration of the show and European and American business associations.
The summit will address success stories such as converting shipping containers into portable swimming centers to learn to swim in South AfricaThe meeting will take place on November 28 and will feature a dozen speakers, including the general managers of the sponsoring companies: Bruce Brooks (Fluidra), Kevin Holleran (Hayward) and Jerome Pedretti (Pentair). The summit will also address four success stories: a floating pool that will allow New York citizens to swim in the Hudson by filtering water through its walls; the modernization of Paris's public swimming pool park; the transformation of shipping containers into portable swimming centers in South Africa to learn to swim, and the social role that swimming pools played in ending social segregation in America.
A pavilion converted into a spa
The Piscina&Wellness show will once again include the Wellness Experience wellness center, which will showcase new equipment, products, solutions, and treatments. The pavilion at the Gran Via venue will offer 500 square meters of spa, which will include the usual different rooms of these establishments, from the reception and waiting room to saunas and hydromassage pools. This year's edition will feature a novelty: an immersive experience within a virtual environment, through which visitors can transport themselves to Roman baths, an ice spa, and a tropical beach.
The Wellness Experience will also offer demonstrations and workshops on disciplines such as aquatic physiotherapy, mindfulness, relaxation, thermal yoga, sound therapy in water, and breathing techniques. In addition, treatments such as massages based on natural products like aromatic oils, microalgae, stem cells, and what is known as vegan botox will be carried out.
A show with a garden
Another section of the Piscina&Wellness show transports visitors to a simulated exterior. The Outdoor Living Experience will showcase furniture, accessories, decoration, and landscaping services for the design of outdoor spaces where pools are located. The showroom will feature about thirty exhibitors in 500 square meters, recreating a garden that will incorporate the latest design trends.
This intended garden will host conferences organized by the Spanish Association of Landscapers on November 29 and 30. Speakers will include architect Ana Esteve (Aeland); José Luis Romeu Lamaignere (IP Ingenieros Paisajistas e IP Garden), Inés Martínez de Albornoz (Buena Planta), Enric Sancho (Cultidelta), Sergi Abellán Sanfélix (Estudio Az), and landscapers Joanma Roig, Isabel Alguacil, and Belén Mutlló. During the conferences, new paradigms of landscaping and the impact of climate change on project design will be addressed. All this in a show that will bring together representatives from across the value chain of the pool and wellness sector.