Its first two decades have involved almost 3,200 events and 19 million visitors, as well as a cumulative impact of 1.806 billion euros
Bilbao Exhibition Centre celebrates its 20th anniversary this April. Over two decades, it has hosted and witnessed thousands of events that have had an impact far beyond its borders and which underline its position as a leading venue for the socio-economic development and external projection of the Basque Country.
With this mission in mind, the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Biscay, the City Councils of Bilbao and Barakaldo and CámaraBilbao conceived the venue, an avant-garde facility created to enhance the vocation of service and the cosmopolitan character of what was then known as the Bilbao International Trade Fair. It was an iconic project, whose design and technological equipment took up the baton of 120 years of trade fair tradition and, at the same time, made it possible to confront the challenges of the 21st century.
The challenge was to make BEC a leading centre recognised at European and world level, and this has been achieved. In 2004, Bilbao’s trade fair concept gave way to a much more ambitious one that opened its borders to the outside world. The development of three business lines – Fairs and Exhibitions, Conventions and Bizkaia Arena – at the new venue has led BEC to the position it occupies in today’s economy. The numbers back it up: in twenty years the Basque institution has generated a cumulative economic impact on GDP of 1.806 billion euros, which reached its peak last year with 156 million euros.
Thus, over two decades of activity, BEC has accumulated significant credentials by hosting 3,172 events of various kinds: trade fairs, conventions, conferences, company meetings, assemblies, exhibitions, civil service examinations, concerts, musical and sporting events, film productions… Almost 19 million people have set foot in its atrium to attend one of them.
Many of the events held over the years have responded to the new meeting models and the challenges of today’s society, with spaces for innovation, knowledge, business and to enjoy culture and leisure. Some of them have marked the agenda of professionals from countries all over the world and others have offered unique experiences to the general public.
On the professional side, highlights include Addit3d, Basque Open Industry, BeDigital, BIEMH-International Machine-Tool Biennial, Skoda World Dealer Congress, EFEF-European Future Energy Forum, EHEC-European Hydrogen Energy Conference, Empack&Logistics, the filming of the movie “The Plaftorm”, Food4Future, Gastech, +Industry, Innovate4Climate of the World Bank, Intergraf, MAN Trucks World Presentation, Rail Live, Routes, Steel Tech, Wind Europe and World Maritime Week many of which are markedly international.
As for public events such as the MTV EMA Awards, concerts by Bryan Adams, Bruce Springsteen, Fito, Sting, ACDC, Chuck Berry, Berri Txarrak, Rosalía, the three great finals of the National Bertsolaris Championship, NBA Global Games, the Basketball World Cup, the European Supercross and Boxing Championships, Disney on Ice, ZEIDFEST Gaztea, Euskalgym, the Tour de France, as well as classic and much-loved events such as PIN, Gustoko, Euskal Encounter, Tendencias Creativas, Desembalaje, Retroclásica, FVO and Expovacaciones.
The latter ones will continue to refresh their events in this year’s programme, which reflects the same commitment to the strategic sectors of the economy and to the general public. Its other milestones will be the holding of the 32nd BIEMH-International Machine Tool Exhibition, ADDITꜪD, BeDIGITAL, WORKinn and Egurtek, in the field of B2B events, and major concerts such as those of Estopa, Maná, Ura Bere Bideann and the ZEIDFEST Gaztea festival.
The crowning event in this year’s calendar will be the concert by the Canadian rocker Bryan Adams, who has performed at the Bizkaia Arena on three occasions since 2005 in front of a very large audience, and two outstanding events dedicated to trade fairs and congresses. They will be the Annual Assembly of EMECA, the association that brings together the main trade fair venues in Europe, and the 2nd AFE-APCE Congress, which will take place in July. The Association of Spanish Trade Fairs, chaired by Xabier Basañez, General Manager of BEC, will address the joint meeting with the Association of Palaces and Congresses of Spain with the emphasis on “Legacies that transform. The impact beyond the event”, as its claim says.
The events leave a significant legacy that lasts beyond the event itself and contributes to the comprehensive positive development of the territory. This concept, together with others such as sustainability, digitalisation and user experience, will mark BEC’s roadmap for the coming years. Working in these cross-cutting areas will be key to maintaining our leading position in the international events industry of the future.
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