IFEMA MADRID headquarters of the second edition of FriendsFest
Who has not dreamed of having a coffee in Central Perk or visiting the apartment of Monica’s grandmother? Thanks to Comedy Central, Madrid has been one of the few European cities to receive this original exhibition. The past 10 to 19 May, fans of the series Friends had the opportunity to live a unique experience in the sets of the series to celebrate the 25 years since its premiere.
The exhibition changes its location: from Matadero to IFEMA MADRID
“One of the reasons why we have changed headquarters was precisely the need to increase the size of the facilities, in addition to IFEMA MADRID represents a prestigious institution for us,” says Leonor Iradier (Marketing Senior Director Multibrand of VIMN Spain). The festival has seen an increase in attendance compared to the previous edition of almost 30% more. “We have received 14,800 people in total during the ten days of the event.” The moment with the highest attendance flow? “It was lived on the first Saturday, May 18,” says Leonor.
A positive evolution of FriendsFest
“The first edition was smaller, although we were already aware of the potential it had,” says Leonor Iradier. During this edition, the exhibition has varied in design and capacity, “such as Monica’s apartment, which has gone from 400m2 to 1,000m2”, clarifies Leonor. Also during this second edition, the visit through the different routes has been extended throughout the day, since a private tour has been created in Monica’s apartment. The great novelty? The apartment is integrated into the Central Perk, offering a richer experience: “you end the tour in a coffee shop buying a coffee that Phoebe or one of the protagonists in the series could take,” says Leonor.
Tour through the funniest scenes of the series
“The objective was for attendees to experience some of the most entertaining experiences and scenes in the life of their protagonists, such as the purple apartment, the cafeteria and the successful recreation of the orange sofa with the fountain and the opening umbrellas, as well as representing some scenes like the Las Vegas chapel where you could get married as a joke, get into Monica and Rachel’s graduation with an exhibition of very pink cake dresses ... or get into Phoebe’s taxi “, clarifies Leonor.
With what moments do you stay of all the exhibition?
“We saw an unprecedented fan phenomenon: people singing and playing at Central Perk, people in disguise, hand requests, celebrities who came incognito, but we were left with the smile and the laughs of every fan!”, Exclaims Leonor