The most anticipated 2025 fairs and congresses in Barcelona

The city’s agenda will be filled with a multitude of internationally renowned events, such as MWC Barcelona, 4YFN, ISE, and the Smart City Expo World Congress.

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15/01/2025 - 17:36 h

Barcelona is once again ranked in the global Top 5 cities hosting the most international congresses. More specifically, it comes fifth in the latest ranking published by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), with a total of 139 congresses held in 2023.

The Catalan capital has established itself as a leading hub in the events sector, particularly in areas such as technology, entrepreneurship, industrial innovation, and science, among others. Let’s take a look at its agenda of fairs and congresses for 2025.

The latest technological developments kick off the year

As usual, the first months of the year will see Barcelona become the capital of technology. ICE will bring together over 55,000 video game professionals from 20 to 22 January, on a platform showcasing the latest innovations and product launches in the industry.

This will be closely followed by Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the leading congress in the audiovisual sector, which will take place from 4 to 7 February. For the second consecutive year, it will include the European Latin American AV Forum, a strategic meeting point to promote innovation and the development of advanced technology between Europe and Latin America, with Barcelona at the heart of this connection.

The much-anticipated MWC Barcelona will take place from 3 to 6 March, focusing this year on the evolution of 5G, generative AI, IoT, and more. One of its major new features will be the Talent Arena, which will take place during the MWC and bring together digital professionals with leading tech companies and educational institutions.

As is customary, the 4YFN will take place alongside the MWC, in which the global startup ecosystem will showcase its products to investors, corporations, and institutions. In the field of entrepreneurship, Bizbarcelona stands out as a must-attend event for SMEs and self-employed individuals. On 15 and 16 October, they will be able to discover a multitude of tools (especially technological and digital) to grow their business.

In spring, from 13 to 15 May, Barcelona will host the IOT Solutions World Congress, which will explore the technological transformation of industry over three days. It will do so alongside the BCN Cybersecurity Congress, which will once again be held concurrently. Also worth highlighting is the Advanced Factories event, from 8 to 10 April, showcasing the latest solutions in automation, robotics, and digital manufacturing, as well as SPRING I/O on 22 and 23 May, the European congress on the Spring Framework ecosystem.

 Imagining the future of the planet

What challenges are the world’s big cities facing? The answers can be found at the Smart City Expo World Congress, the most important event in the sphere of smart cities, which from 4 to 6 November will bring together companies, governments and organisations to map out a brighter future for major cities. As in the previous edition, it will include the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit, the meeting point for the startup ecosystem focused on the transfer of science and technology.

Taking place at the same time will be the Tomorrow.Blue Economy World Congress, where experts and companies will discuss the way forward to tackle the challenges of a sustainable and innovative blue economy. This will take place alongside the Tomorrow.Building World Congress, which will focus on the limits of urban transformation worldwide.

Medicine takes centre stage in Barcelona

This will also be an outstanding year for medical congresses. Barcelona will attract thousands of professionals from various specialities thanks to events such as Infrafarma, the European pharmaceutical sector gathering taking place from 25 to 27 March, and the Barcelona Dental Show on 10 and 11 April, focusing on innovation in dental health.

Other notable events include the International IVIRMA Congress (24-26 April) on reproductive medicine, the EULAR Congress (11-14 June) on rheumatology, the European Congress on Digital Pathology (26-28 June) and the World Conference on Lung Cancer (6-9 September).