It’s official! The 2010-2011 Barcelona Congress Guide will be available as from May. Inside, congress professionals will find everything on Barcelona’s congress, convention and incentive travel offer in order to organise that extra special event. This biannual publication is available in a handy book format, which can be ordered free of charge from bcb@barcelonaturisme.cat, or just consult the www.barcelonaconventionbureau.com website for a digital version.

By this summer Barcelona will boast a new cutting edge medical centre, the Biomedical Research Center Esther Koplowitz (CIBEK). The new facility is being built next to the pioneering Hospital Clínic (carrer de Rosselló/Urgell), a world leading public medical centre. At these new facilities financed by the Esther Koplowitz Foundation, the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) will employ 350 top international investigators, with specialist areas in liver and digestive illnesses, alcohol addiction, obesity, blood diseases and hepatitis, amongst others. The new facility will help Barcelona forge a place amongst the world’s top sites for biomedical research.

When the European Union sports directors set up a new headquarters for a proposed European Sports Agency –as set out in the Lisbon Treaty by Europe’s heads of state- Barcelona is in with a strong chance of winning the candidature, according to Mayor Jordi Hereu.
He told EU sports directors meeting in Barcelona that “this Mediterranean city has a clear European vocation and a significant and active part of the population involved in sports clubs. A future European Sports Agency would be warmly welcomed.”
EU sports directors went away from Barcelona earlier this quarter with the clear impression that Barcelona wanted to create a new hub for European sport.

With work underway to refurbish the historic former hospital’s pavilions, the heritage site has already signed up important international headquarters like the United Nations University, a centre that come 2012 will offer courses and research on the alliance of civilizations.

Other institutions like the UN’s World Tourism Organization, amongst others, are studying the possibility of setting up specialist departments to deal with Mediterranean issues in the San Pau facilities. Barcelona is already headquarters to the association Ascame, representing 200 Mediterranean chambers of commerce. Ascame is an initiative of Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce. Meanwhile, Barcelona’s think tank IEMed, is recognised as a leader in highlighting issues related to the region, generating many international meetings on the region.

The Mediterranean has a true capital now, Barcelona.

The second edition of the Global Sports Forum Barcelona took place in Barcelona in March with more than 1,000 participants from no fewer than 50 countries, with chaired debates, over 70 expert speakers hailing from six different continents.
The two-and-a-half day Forum looked at the four major challenges facing sport and wider society: sustainable development, the digital age, and the new world map of sports and youth integration. Each saw debated question times at conferences and round table events at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya.
Many leading sports personalities from all over the world took part in this the second edition of the Global Sports Forum Barcelona, like Jonah Tali Lomu, former New Zealand rugby union player who also starred Clint Eastwood’s film Invictus.

After an initial edition just before the summer of 2009, The Brandery –a contemporary fashion tradeshow- returned this quarter with more contracted exhibition space, more companies and more visitors to confirm its potential. The Brandery, designed and invented by Barcelona’s own key fashion stakeholders and its institutions, closed its winter show in Montjuïc’s exhibition centre with a 47% increase in exhibiting companies, 51% more visitors to total 14,689, and 210 brands. Other fashion events were organised to coincide with The Brandery, like the 080 Barcelona Fashion, to make Barcelona a new centre for urban brand fashion. Around half the exhibitors came from abroad, especially from France, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom, showing the event’s international appeal. The third edition will be held in Montjuïc’s halls 6 and 7 next June 28 – 30th to present the Spring/Summer collections for 2011.

The world’s most important telephony congress, the Mobile World Congress held at Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc halls last February, managed to beat organiser GSMA’s expectations despite the recession. With professional visitor numbers up 2,000 to 49,000 compared to its 2009 edition, the GSMA boss John Hoffman thanked Barcelona, Catalonia, Fira de Barcelona and other congress stakeholders in Barcelona for being “such warm and efficient hosts”.

Last March 8-10th, Barcelona became Europe’s capital of biotechnology when it hosted the BIO-Europe Spring 2010 congress, the 4th Annual International Partnering Conference for the biotechnology industry. Held at the CCIB Convention Centre, the event attracted some 1,800 professionals from 1,000 companies representing over 40 countries. All the big names like Almirall, Baxter or Novartis were present for what is Europe’s premiere event.

City chiefs have outlined a plan to convert industrial land once occupied by car producer SEAT into an innovation zone occupied by between 300 to 500 companies from three business clusters identified as key drivers for the city’s future: ICT, audiovisual and foodstuffs industries. The project provides 50 hectares of land for companies and other institutions. Zona Franca is already the centre of production for much of Barcelona’s business, especially with its wholesale market Mercabarna, one of Europe’s biggest, located here and car production, too.  As from 2012, the area will provide an estimated 20,000 jobs in the so-called Barcelona Zona Innovació (BZ) specialising in high value added activities and those strategic businesses key to the city’s future. The move forms part of a wider urban regeneration project aimed at creating a whole new neighbourhood on the western side of the city.

Barcelona will get the chance to show its urban credentials at the 2010 Universal Exhibition being held in Shanghai from May 1st to October 31st. For the first time 50 of the world’s top cities will present their best urban projects designed to transform urban space and improve quality of life, with Barcelona’s urban regeneration of its Old City and its technology district 22@Barcelona showcased for the whole world to see.

Barcelona will show these two projects in a 1,000 m2 space expected to be visited by millions of Chinese under the slogan “Best cities, best quality of life”. “This is a great chance for Barcelona to present itself to the whole world,” claims Barcelona Mayor Hereu. The Old City transformation is cited as an example of how to develop historical centres, while 22@Barcelona has been identified as a best practise example of how to transform a once industrial quarter into a technology district. The 184-day long Exhibition will also see special promotional events and activities on Barcelona, Catalonia, the Mediterranean, our city’s cultural, sports and creativity. Barcelona will share the pavilion with Peking and Hong Kong. A life-sized replica of Park Güell’s Drac will stand in one of the main plazas in the Shanghai Universal Exhibition zone.

Last March Barcelona played host to one of the most important digital health events held in Europe, with 2,500 gathering for eHealth Week 2010. With a high level EU health ministerial meeting held at the start of the 4-day event, this was one of the most important meetings for the information and communications technologies (ICT) sector applied to health (eHealth).

Experts from around the world were at the event held in the CCIB convention halls. Topics dealt with included tele-assistance, telemedicine and e-prescriptions for drugs. The event also brought together the World of Health IT Conference and Exhibition and a High-Level Ministerial Conference on e-Health, under the framework of Spain's presidency of the European Union.

Barcelona is the centre for many of the European Union (EU) ministerial and high-level meetings taking place under the Spanish presidency of the EU. Some 26 will be organised through to the summer, with the most important the Union for the Mediterranean Summit from June 5-7th and a bilateral EU-Egypt Summit. These promise to help Barcelona consolidate its leadership in the region, whilst strengthening its international network of stakeholders, especially those related to the Mediterranean.

Barcelona has triumphed in the top cruise industry awards recognising outstanding services to cruise ships, passengers and crew. Barcelona was listed six times as a winner in addition to a commendation by industry magazine Dream World Cruise Destinations Spring 2010. Now in its seventh edition, these annual awards for the best ports in the world are voted for by readers and industry professionals.

Five of the awards came from port activities, while two were for more general tourism activity. The awards list was: Most Efficient Terminal Operator (1º) Best Turnaround Port Operations (1º) Most Efficient Port Services (1º) Best Destination Experience (Independent) (1º) Best Tour Guides (Commendation) Most Responsive Port (2º) Most Improved Terminal Facilities (2º)