The City of Madrid is to receive more than 10,000 professionals from the news publishing industry, from over 80 different countries, at IFRA EXPO 2012, one of the world's most important international trade fairs. In winning this event for Madrid, the result of the combined effort of IFEMA and the Madrid Convention Bureau, the city's image as a business tourism destination has been strengthened.

IFRA Expo is an international trade fair for the news publishing industry, organized by WAN-IFRA (World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers). It is held once a year at a different location around the world. In Madrid it will be held at the headquarters of IFEMA, from the 29th to the 31st of October 2012. The official announcement of Madrid's selection as host city for IFRA Expo 2012 was given during the course of this year's edition of the event, which took place in Hamburg.

Largest event 2012

Given the high number of expected attendees (24,000 overnight visitors are anticipated), IFRA EXPO is the largest event lined up so far for 2012. The second largest conference signed for Madrid that year in terms of attendee numbers will be the International Congress of Political Science, with 5,000 delegates, to take place in the month of July. All those attending IFRA EXPO 2012 will be able to discover new technologies and business models, not just in the field of printed media but also online and mobile solutions. Approximately 95% of visitors will be involved in purchasing decisions at their respective organizations.

WAN-IFRA

WAN-IFRA, the event organizer, is the world's largest media association. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and 3,000 companies in over 120 countries, including almost all of Spain's groups, such as Prisa-El País and Vocento. Although the association's central offices are in Paris, WAN-IFRA Ibérica, based in Madrid, is the subsidiary that works with the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American markets. During the selection phase for IFRA EXPO 2012, the MCB was already collaborating with this Madrid-based association in, among other projects, the celebration of a welcome reception at the Casa de la Villa for those attending its conferences on new trends in the sector, which were held in May.