Recognised with a prestigious international award for operational excellence
Fira de Barcelona wins the UFI Operations & Services Award 2026
Fira de Barcelona has been awarded the UFI Operations & Services Award 2026, presented by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), the association representing the world’s leading exhibition industry operators. The award recognises the operational excellence demonstrated by the institution in responding to the growing complexity of managing major international events, while maintaining the highest standards of safety, efficiency and service quality.
In recent years, Fira de Barcelona has developed an integrated management system to respond to increasingly intensive activity across its venues. This model enables events, services and spaces to be planned jointly, identifying synergies between exhibitions and anticipating operational needs from a comprehensive venue-wide perspective.
The award recognises the operational model that the institution has developed to support planned growth. Since its beginnings, Fira’s strategic plans have placed maximising venue occupancy among its central objectives. This approach has led to a model capable of managing major events within increasingly tight timeframes and optimising the use of spaces, while maintaining the quality and safety standards required by organisers.
Among the most notable initiatives is a digital platform for monitoring build-up operations. What initially began as a basic control system has evolved into a tool that monitors more than 1,200 stands and operational services in real time, sharing information between teams and suppliers to facilitate decision-making.
The application also highlights the incorporation of a digital twin of the pavilions at the Gran Via venue, which enables the planning of rigging installations to be optimised before they are carried out. These tools, together with the development of in-house technical expertise, have contributed to a 55% increase in work productivity and improved operational efficiency.
An international benchmark for the exhibition industry
These innovations strengthen Fira de Barcelona’s international positioning as a benchmark in the management of major events and contribute to consolidating Barcelona’s position among the world’s leading exhibition and congress destinations.
In this regard, Constantí Serrallonga, Fira de Barcelona General, manager remarked that: “This award is a significant recognition for Fira de Barcelona. It acknowledges our longstanding commitment to operational excellence and developing an operating model capable of meeting the demands and standards of the world’s leading organizers in terms of safety and efficiency. It also strengthens our international position as a benchmark for world-class venues and services in the trade show and events industry, while inspiring us to continue raising the bar in everything we do.”
Stefan Eckert, Chair of the UFI Operations & Services Working Group, highlighted: “Fira Barcelona impressed the jury with its comprehensive and highly practical approach to operational excellence under pressure. By turning the challenge of increasingly large, back-to-back events into a repeatable operational system, they demonstrated how careful planning, collaboration and continuous improvement can enable a venue to operate more efficiently and safely.”
A track record recognised by UFI
The UFI Operations & Services Award, which Fira de Barcelona has received for the fifth time (2010, 2012, 2014, 2021 and 2026), recognises different projects and initiatives developed by exhibition venues around the world in each edition. The award adds to other distinctions presented to Fira de Barcelona by UFI in recent years, including the Sustainable Development Award (2017), for its promotion of sustainable initiatives, and the Education Award (2016), for its international talent development programme, among others.
UFI is the leading international association representing trade show organisers and exhibition centre operators worldwide, with more than 900 members in 90 countries. Since 1925, it has contributed to shaping the global exhibition industry by establishing international standards, promoting collaboration and fostering innovation.
Barcelona, 24 September 2026.
Press Office – Fira de Barcelona
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