Large international congresses such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and Alimentaria have led the American group McDonald’s to choose Barcelona as the place to hold its annual convention in 2024. It is the first time that the king of hamburgers will hold its congress outside the United States in the company’s 83-year history.
Some 14,000 congressmen are expected to attend, including franchisees, suppliers and company employees. For Luis Quintiliano, president of McDonald’s Spain, “it is a pride to host this important event in Barcelona for the entire McDonald’s system in the world.” Jill McDonald, executive vice president and president of international operating markets, “bringing the global convention to Europe is a great endorsement of the impact of our international business,” she explains in a statement from the restaurant chain.
For César González, president of Associated Spanish Event Agencies (Aevea), the decision that McDonald’s has chosen the Catalan capital responds to “a combination of attributes, such as connectivity, Mediterranean lifestyle, accommodation and leisure offer, diverse spaces and singular”. In addition, explains the manager, “the commitment to sustainability has made Barcelona a benchmark in the organization of major events and events”. To this, adds González, “it has a strong and innovative events industry, capable of responding to the multitude of needs involved in organizing an event of these characteristics.”
Similarly, for González, “McDonald’s has valued the capacity of Barcelona as the best strategic point to connect the more than 14,000 attendees to the event worldwide”, reinforcing the image of the city and the experiential marketing industry.
In his opinion, the commitment that congresses such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC), Ibtm World, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) or Seafood Expo Global have made for the city has been relevant to the decision made by McDonald’s. In the food sector, it also has Alimentaria, organized by the Fira de Barcelona itself as an event of international relevance. The fact that it is the first destination in the world in number of delegates in international congresses according to the ICCA ranking and the fourth in number of congresses has also been valued, even more so considering that it is the only city that has remained in the top 5 for over twenty years.
