Palacio de Congresos (Madrid)

This article is about the convention centre in the Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid. For the convention centre in Campo de las Naciones, Madrid, see IFEMA Palacio Municipal.
Palacio de Congresos de Madrid
Map
Alternative names
  • Palacio de Congresos
  • Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones
General information
TypeConvention centre
AddressPaseo de la Castellana, 99, 28046
Town or cityMadrid
CountrySpain
Current tenantsNone
Opened1 June 1970
Design and construction
Architect(s)Pablo Pintado Riba

The Palacio de Congresos de Madrid,[1] also known as Palacio de Congresos or Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones, is a convention centre in Madrid, Spain. Located in the Paseo de la Castellana, it is unused since 2012. The building's façade prominently displays a ceramic mosaic reproducing a work by Joan Miró.

History

The building's plot lies on the intersection of the Paseo de la Castellana with the Avenida del General Perón [es], in the Cuatro Caminos neighborhood, Tetuán district.[2] It was designed by Pablo Pintado y Riba, who was awarded with the tender in 1964.[3][4] It was inaugurated on 1 June 1970.[5] The venue hosted the first OTI Festival in 1972.[6] A large ceramic mosaic created by Joan Gardy Artigas based on a sketch by Joan Miró was added to the façade.[7] The renovation was inaugurated on 5 October 1980 by Mayor Enrique Tierno Galván.[7]

The Palacio de Congresos hosted the press centre of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, for which a temporary skyway across La Castellana to connect the building to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium was built and then dismantled.[4] The Goya Awards were celebrated at the congress centre since the second edition in 1988 until they moved to the Palacio Municipal de Congresos,[8] in Campo de las Naciones. The building closed in late 2012 to remedy deficiencies in security.[9] It has been unused from then on.

Mayors Manuela Carmena and José Luis Martínez-Almeida have asked for the building's reopening.[10] A 2018 agreement to transfer the building's management to IFEMA did not come to fruition.[10] A viability plan published in 2020 by Turespaña, the Spanish government agency for tourism promotion, contemplated a 40-year lease, presumably to host the headquarters of the UN's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO),[11][12] currently located in the neighbouring Calle del Poeta Joan Maragall [es].

References

  1. ^ "Palacio de Congresos de Madrid". Ayuntamiento de Madrid. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones". Guía de Arquitectura de Madrid. Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  3. ^ Castanedo, Fernando (15 February 2007). "Pablo Pintado, arquitecto". El País.
  4. ^ a b "Así es como van a remodelar el Palacio de Congresos de Madrid". El Periódico. 2 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Ifema estudia gestionar el Palacio Municipal de Congresos de Madrid". El Economista. 9 June 2017.
  6. ^ "El Festival de la OTI, el olvidado Eurovisión de las Américas". Bluper. El Español. 22 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b Sanz, Víctor (5 October 2017). "El día que Joan Miró pasó a decorar Madrid". Madridiario.
  8. ^ "30 años de Goya". Diario Sur. 29 January 2016.
  9. ^ "El Gobierno trabaja para habilitar el Palacio de Congresos de Madrid como sede de la OMT". Europa Press. 21 January 2019.
  10. ^ a b "El Palacio de Congresos de la Castellana, cerrado desde 2012, volverá a abrir". Madridesnoticia.
  11. ^ "El Palacio de Congresos de Madrid será la sede de la Organización Mundial del Turismo". La Razón. 20 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Turespaña cederá el Palacio de Congresos de la Castellana por 40 años". HostelTur. 20 February 2020.

40°27′10″N 3°41′28″W / 40.45289°N 3.69115°W / 40.45289; -3.69115