40 Aniversary

40 years ago, in 1978, the Chamber of Commerce and the City Council of Madrid began discussions for the creation of a fair entity in Madrid, which were subsequently joined by the then Provincial Council—today Community of Madrid—and Caja de Madrid.

On 1 December of that same year, the four most important institutions at the time in the capital signed a document of intent that would be developed over the following year.

It was on 6 February 1979 that the Mayor of Madrid and the presidents of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Provincial Council and Caja de Madrid signed the protocol for the creation of the Madrid Fair Institution (IFEMA MADRID), making it the first fair organising entity in the Spanish capital.

Today, 40 years later, 100 million visitors and 760,000 companies have participated in the 2,100 fairs held at IFEMA MADRID, in addition to more than 10,000 congresses, conventions and other professional and leisure events.

We invite you to participate in this important celebration for us. Thank you for being part of IFEMA MADRID.

Last September, at the beginning of the celebrations to mark IFEMA MADRID's 40th Anniversary, we presented the IFEMA MADRID Valdebebas expansion project. An important development in which IFEMA MADRID will invest a total of 180 million euros by 2023 out of its own resources generated by its own activity.

The expansion will be undertaken in several phases on a plot of land with a total area of 500,662 m2 and a maximum buildable area of 250,000 m2. The implementation of IFEMA MADRID Valdebebas will allow the Institution to increase its capacity to generate wealth for Madrid. It is estimated that an additional economic impact of 1.2 billion euros will be added to the almost 4.4 billion that IFEMA MADRID contributes each year to the surrounding area.

The first event to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of IFEMA MADRID brought together, in the Southern Auditorium at Feria de Madrid, some of the most important players in local government and in the Institution's history in recent years.

The ex-mayors of Madrid City Council José Mª Álvarez del Manzano, Juan Barranco, Alberto Ruíz-Gallardón and Ana Botella; the mayor and vice mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez Almeida and Begoña Villacís; the president and vice president of the Community of Madrid Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Ignacio Aguado; the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Madrid Ángel Asensio; the president of the Montemadrid Foundation Jesús Núñez, and the journalists and chroniclers of the city Constantino Mediavilla, Pedro Montoliú and Mayte Alcaraz, shared memories and anecdotes on IFEMA MADRID's beginnings and progress, extolling its central role in the Spanish business fabric throughout these forty years, without forgetting to examine the future of the fair sector, with its capacity for innovation and knowledge.