In a few weeks, the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys will host The Venue Barcelona, ??a center for innovative companies specialized in music, sports and major events.
This space will be launched at the end of the first quarter of the year and will begin its activity by launching a call to attract the first start-ups that will coexist with the large and medium-sized companies that will also set up shop there. The development of this business center will be compatible with the provisional use of the stadium by Futbol Club Barcelona, ??exiled in Montjuïc awaiting its return to the new Camp Nou.
The Montjuïc Olympic Ring is finalizing preparations for the launch of this project promoted by the municipal company BSM, manager of the sports facilities and designed in collaboration with Barcelona Activa and the Institut Barcelona Esports (IBE). The initiative starts with a temporary business union (UTE) that will be in charge of energizing the innovation center and attracting the companies that will be located in the Olympic Stadium.
This morning the agreement was signed that allows The Venue Barcelona, ??which will officially open its doors at the end of March, to get up and running. Although the main objective is to develop activities related to those three areas, as this initiative develops it will open to other fields such as mobility, restaurants, energy or security.
The managers of The Venue Barcelona have launched a first call for start-ups to facilitate the landing of the first entrepreneurs who will work from the Olympic Stadium. According to the president of BSM and first deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council, Laia Bonet, “this project is a clear example of the task carried out by the Olympic Ring to reinforce Barcelona’s leadership in the field of culture, sport and the great events”.
Bonet added that “we are working to make Barcelona a great European capital of entertainment and the launch of this space is an example of how, through public-private collaboration, we want to go one step further and join efforts to connect the best talent to make advance innovation in the field of events, sports and culture”.
The Councilor for Sports, David Escudé, stated that “this project represents a step forward to promote the Barcelona Sports Hub, a pioneering initiative that will place the city on the world map as a center of technological innovation applied to sports.”
“At The Venue Barcelona we are redefining what it means to be a space of innovation and collaboration. Here we will not only offer a place to work, but a vibrant ecosystem where corporations and start-ups can come together to create value,” declared Emilio Risques, director and co-founder of The MotherTrees Innovation Ecosystem
The new innovation center of the Olympic Ring occupies an office space of 1,100 square meters located on the south façade of the Olympic Stadium. It is equipped with 14 interconnected work modules, a large coworking area and other spaces to facilitate collaboration between the companies that set up shop. In addition, 400 square meters of exterior space have been enabled to allow the organization of outdoor events.
The project is designed to integrate the companies resident in The Venue Barcelona with the Olympic Ring and the ecosystem of institutions present in Montjuïc Park, such as the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), the Olympic Museum or the Picornell swimming pools, among others. The works had a budget of 2.8 million euros contributed by BSM.
The union of companies that will manage The Venue Barcelona is made up of four firms. The MotherTrees will lead the application of the concept of collaborative open innovation. It uses a methodology aimed at solving complex challenges quickly and sustainably.
B-Bruce is a company specialized in turning innovative ideas into products ready to go to market. Within the The Venue Barcelona project, it will promote the brand development of the proposals that arise with the aim of impacting the public’s experience of events and innovating in the way they relate to brands and products.
Ongoing is a benchmark in the use of data to amplify the impact of innovations and scale projects. From Montjuïc, he will introduce results marketing to optimize the concepts and experiences arising from companies and start-ups.
Finally, U-Skale will be the company specialized in accelerating startups and companies at The Venue Barcelona. It will provide the methodology, tools, resources and mentoring necessary to create innovative, sustainable business models with an impact on their sectors.
