Annual Report

Chairman of the Executive Committee of IFEMA MADRID

“I am always proud to present the results of 12 months of strategy and effort. But this is even more the case this year when we analyse the exceptional year IFEMA MADRID experienced in 2022 - the best year in its history. And this is not just because of the excellent financial results achieved. It is also due to the international credit it deserves because of being the only organisation that maintained its schedule of events compared to others in Europe and around the world.”

2022 was an exceptional year for IFEMA MADRID at every level and in all its areas of action. Against a backdrop still hampered by the restrictions that marked the development of the first quarter, it has renewed its global leadership in the recovery of the sector. It has also made significant progress in the diversification of its activity through a range of activities that contributed very directly to its strategic objective of creating value and driving economic growth.

In terms of trade fairs and congresses, IFEMA MADRID began the year with a firm commitment to in-person events, while always respecting the health measures in force. Not only did it hold its full schedule of planned events, but it also added new events with extraordinary attendance. Our own trade fairs, such as FITUR and FRUIT ATTRACTION, exceeded all expectations and demonstrated IFEMA MADRID’s capacity to boost activity in any sector through the involvement of all agents involved. IFEMA MADRID also organised the NATO Summit on behalf of the Spanish government, representing a new opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to organise and host events of the utmost international importance.

Activity in numbers

In the difficult conditions of 2022, the activity of IFEMA MADRID's communication channels was crucial in communicating and emphasising the stages in the reactivation of our operations. We maintained our commitment to digital channels in order to achieve impact beyond the traditional media,

Innovation is crucial for an institution like IFEMA MADRID to maintain its competitiveness and leadership in a constantly changing environment. In 2022, we continued adopting new ideas, technologies and approaches, in order to offer more attractive and effective experiences for exhibitors and visitors.

The use of advanced technological solutions and the creation of innovative event formats, together with the integration of interactive elements and our firm commitment to digitalisation, were some of the tools we used to create value during the year.

IFEMA MADRID began 2022 with an estimated budget adapted to the economic conditions in September 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was not yet over, with one overriding objective: to achieve positive results that demonstrated a recovery in activity.

We more than met this objective. The performance of trade fair and congress activity in 2022 was better than expected, and we were able to return to normality in holding events and in their attendance.