IFEMA and the business of FITUR: Madrid as the world's MICE capital
FITUR 2026 closed with €505 million in economic impact and 255,000 visitors from 161 countries. The numbers behind IFEMA MADRID and the trade-fair anchor of Madrid's MICE economy.
Sourced essays on the figures, institutions, and language that give Madrid its weight as a name. No marketing, no speculation. Only what is on record.
FITUR 2026 closed with €505 million in economic impact and 255,000 visitors from 161 countries. The numbers behind IFEMA MADRID and the trade-fair anchor of Madrid's MICE economy.
Formula 1 returns to Madrid in September on a ten-year contract. The NFL is back in November. The numbers behind a calendar that is reshaping how broadcasters program around the city.
In December 2025 the WTTC moved its global headquarters from London to Madrid. UN Tourism is already there. Two of the most consequential institutions in global tourism now share a postcode.
31 starred restaurants in the 2026 guide. One at three stars, six at two stars. The numbers behind a dining economy that has become a category of its own.
25% of every flight between the EU and Latin America passes through Madrid–Barajas. The infrastructure, capital flows, and corporate footprint behind the gateway thesis.
Madrid Region startups raised €1.2 billion in 2025, up 97% over 2024. Spain's largest tech ecosystem, the unicorns it has produced, and where 2026 is heading.
Spanish crossed the 600-million-speaker mark in 2024 and the 636-million mark in 2025. What that reach means for any media property anchored in the language's historical capital.
A 20-minute drive north of the Puerta del Sol sits the densest cluster of studios, networks, and streaming hubs in Spain. How the cluster formed, and why it kept growing.
In 2024 the city posted its highest visitor count and international spending on record. A close look at the figures, sources, and what they mean for the years ahead.