Palacio de Congresos (Madrid)

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.

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

History

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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

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