The massive "welcome" from Barcelona Global to international talent

Small blue sign hung around the neck for those born in Barcelona and red for those who chose Barcelona. This color code differentiated last night the attendees to the ninth edition of the Hola Barcelona! Cocktail organized by the private association Barcelona Global and which has consolidated itself as one of the annual reference events for the increasingly important community of foreign professionals who choose the Catalan capital to live, develop, and project their international career.

After two years of absence due to the obligatory pause imposed by the pandemic, the event recovered its original format, conquering the gardens of the Palauet Albéniz in Montjuïc, which showed off its best attire to host more than 1,200 people from up to 87 nationalities. A massive networking session in an incomparable setting, privileged views of the city, and accompanied by the sunset. What more could you ask for?

"Barcelona is a city without limits," declared the new president of Barcelona Global, Maite Barrera, at the conclusion of her speech at the event, held entirely in English. The organization prepared a surprise for the attendees: a small concert by the musical trio Stay Homas, which emerged in Barcelona precisely during the pandemic. The event also featured the participation of Barcelona's first deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni, and the association's CEO, Mateu Hernández, who thanked the commitment of Barcelona Global's more than one thousand members, whom he referred to as Barcelona changers, key people to drive change and make things happen in the city.

And, what kind of things? This year the association had it very easy to boast, as it has been the architect of Barcelona hosting the 37th edition of the America's Cup in 2024. This sporting event, one of the three with the most audience worldwide, will once again project Barcelona to the world and yesterday became a central element of the business meeting, which was attended by representatives of the Alinghi Red Bull Racing Team, the first team to settle in the city to prepare for the competition.

Another of the night's protagonists was Irishwoman Leslie Ryan, event director of the America's Cup, who three weeks ago moved with her dog to live in Barcelona, thus joining its extensive international community. Ryan, who had already known the city 30 years ago ---her partner participated in the 1992 Olympic Games---, is responsible for ensuring that the most important regatta in the world unfolds "spectacularly," so her mission is to ensure that everything "happens at the planned time and place and within the assigned budget," as she herself explained to an engaged audience. Ryan noted that thousands of people will be involved in preparing the competition and emphatically congratulated Barcelona for having been chosen among the 62 cities in the world that were candidates. Her desire to become another Barcelonian and commit to its citizens was demonstrated as soon as she began her speech, as her first sentences were in Catalan, a gesture that was applauded by the audience.

The most emotional moment of the night, however, was the intervention of Svetlana Velikanova, a Ukrainian resident in Barcelona who became emotional explaining that her hometown, Mariupol, has been erased from the map by the war started by Russia. Velikanova is the co-founder and CEO of Harbour Space, an unaccredited private university specializing in technology, programming, design, and entrepreneurship that is based in Barcelona. After recounting her life trajectory ---focused on the importance of education to change the world---, she offered her testimony about the reasons that led her to settle in the city to launch her dream: a high-level educational center to train STEM professionals where talent without resources to study is not excluded, but quite the opposite.

"The commitment we make to the talent economy encourages more and more companies to decide to invest in the city and thus create new professional opportunities and more jobs," Collboni highlighted. For her part, Barrera indicated that the association works to make Barcelona an attractive city for global professionals, but "not just any talent, but that which generates a positive impact on society, which helps us create a more sustainable and inclusive world. We need people like you who help us build a better Barcelona," she asserted. The new president of Barcelona Global said that it is time "to fall in love again" and committed to continue promoting actions that facilitate the arrival of international talent, such as improving procedures for obtaining residence permits, offering competitive taxation, and having affordable international schools.

In addition to emphasizing the attraction of the America's Cup and striving to encourage newcomers to become partners of the entity, Mateu Hernández highlighted other actions carried out by Barcelona Global in the last year, such as the lobby action carried out for the drafting of the new Startups Law and the opening of the Barcelona International Welcome Desk by the Barcelona City Council.

The event was presented by journalist Bibiana Ballbè and Rose Chong —both partners of the institution— and had the collaboration of Asabys, Banco Sabadell, Cushman & Wakefield, La Roca Village, and Focus. After the speeches and music, the food-trucks spread throughout the garden with all kinds of informal food and surrounded by endless lively multilingual groups took center stage.