IFEMA MADRID made a strong comeback in the six months since the health crisis reached its pinnacle. In the first six months of the year, it accelerated its operations to pre-pandemic levels, achieving a record turnover in the first half of 2022. The institution’s income has already topped 115 million euros, 30% more than foreseen in the budget. According to the chairman of the Executive Committee, José Vicente de los Mozos, the success of the first semester “validates IFEMA MADRID’s determination to press on during extremely difficult times, guaranteeing its events will go ahead and reaping benefits, not only to the sectors represented but also for Madrid and for the entire country in induced economic terms”.
FITUR in January was the starting pistol for the industry’s international post-pandemic reactivation. This massively successful fair attracted more than 100,000 trade professionals from 127 countries. It was followed by 145 trade exhibitions, fairs and corporate and leisure events. A total of 8,580 companies participated – 22% international – and were visited by 720,000 people. Practically all the fairs scheduled in these six months went ahead. Large-scale events such as ARCOmadrid were held on their regular dates, as were major international industry-wide occasions like SICUR and MOTORTEC. In addition, the line-up included popular attractions like Education Week and extravaganzas like the 75th Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, a global fashion spectacular held uninterruptedly, even during the darkest days of the pandemic.
The last six months were also a benchmark in sustainability thanks to the Global Mobility Call, an innovation from IFEMA MADRID during the period and a fascinating call to six grand events, among which were GENERA, International Fair of Energy and Environment.
Likewise, IFEMA MADRID also championed the return of the in-person national and international congress sector. In the first half of 2022, more than 20,000 professionals from around the world attended one of the six congresses staged in the Recinto Ferial and the Palacio Municipal de IFEMA MADRID, most notably the Heart Failure Congress by the European Cardiology Society; World ATM Congress, the world’s largest international air traffic management (ATM) exhibition and conference, and the Ibero-Latin American Congress of Dermatology, highlighting IFEMA MADRID as Europe’s leading congress destination.
The first half of the year culminated with two unique events. Firstly, World Dog Show, the biggest canine competition on the global scene featuring more than 55,000 people and 16,500 representatives of breeds. And the final flourish, the NATO summit, a historic meeting attended by world leaders.
“The first six months of the year were pivotal for IFEMA MADRID. We validated our basic lines of work, which will take shape in the coming months in a strategic plan whose main pillars we have already achieved, restoring our business with enormous strength, and planning a year that we will conclude with an 80% increase in turnover that will reach 178 million in turnover”. Those were the words chosen by José Vicente de los Mozos to summary the progress made this semester, through hybrid projects and supported by innovation in projects like HELIXA, which explores emerging areas like the metaverse.
