Palacio de Congresos (Madrid)

Palacio de Congresos de Madrid
Map
Interactive map of the Palacio de Congresos de Madrid area
Alternative names
  • Palacio de Congresos
  • Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones
General information
TypeConvention centre
LocationPaseo de la Castellana, 99, 28046, Madrid, Spain
Current tenantsNone
Opened1 June 1970
Design and construction
ArchitectPablo 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] On 25 November 1972, the auditorium hosted the first edition of the OTI Festival.[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

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