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The Bilbao Exhibition Centre (commonly abbreviated as BEC) is an exhibition centre in
Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo ha ...
, Basque Country,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. The current headquarters of the Feria de Muestras de Bilbao, its facilities are located on land formerly occupied by the Basque iron company Altos Hornos de Vizcaya in the neighbourhood of Ansio in Barakaldo, in the
Greater Bilbao Greater Bilbao (Basque: ''Bilboaldea'', Spanish: ''Gran Bilbao'') is an administrative division of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven comarcas of Biscay and the most populated one. The capital city of Gr ...
area. These facilities, opened in April 2004, allow for high capacity international fairs with better services, infrastructure, and connections than the previous facilities in central Bilbao. The Bilbao Exhibition Centre is jointly owned by the
Basque Government The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...
, the Provincial Council of
Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...
, Bilbao Municipal Council, Barakaldo Municipal Council and the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce.


Overview

The Bilbao Exhibition Centre covers an area of , of which are distributed in six pavilions without any columns intended for exhibitions, while the rest houses a shopping mall and a hotel. In addition to the exhibition halls, the complex has a VIP hall, a conference centre, dedicated to office space, and a large atrium. It also has an underground car park with capacity for 4,000 vehicles. On the roof, a photovoltaic solar energy park has been installed, and it has become one of the largest the Basque Country. The park has 628 solar photovoltaic panels and achieves an output of 100 kW in an area of .


BEC Tower

The BEC Tower, at high, was the tallest building the Basque Country when it opened, which was higher than the BBVA Tower in central Bilbao, at in height. In 2009, the title of tallest building went to the
Iberdrola Tower The Iberdrola Tower ( eu, Iberdrola dorrea, es, Torre Iberdrola) is an office skyscraper in Bilbao, Spain. Its construction started on 19 March 2009 and was officially inaugurated by King Juan Carlos I on 21 February 2012. The tower has a hei ...
, which was finished in 2011 and has a height of 165 metres. A restaurant and the offices of the BEC company are located in the tower.


Bizkaia Arena

Bizkaia Arena Bizkaia Arena is an indoor arena in Barakaldo, Greater Bilbao. It is the biggest multipurpose hall in Spain, as it can hold up to 26,000 people, and 15,414 for indoor sports. The arena is part of the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) complex, the Exhi ...
is the largest multi-purpose hall in Spain, since it can accommodate up to 26,000 people, and 18,640 for most indoor sports. It forms part of Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) complex. The venue regularly hosts basketball matches. Between 2009 and 2010, it was the home arena of
Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is the Bilba ...
; in 2007 and 2008, it was also used several times for its most popular matches. The arena was the venue of the final stage of the
2010 Copa del Rey de Baloncesto The Copa del Rey 2009-10 was the 74th edition of the Spanish basketball Cup. It was managed by the ACB and was disputed in Bilbao, Basque Country in the Bizkaia Arena between days 18 and 21 of February. Brackett Quarterfinals ---- ---- ---- ...
, and was one of the sites of
2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...
, hosted by Spain. The arena hosted the annual
MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...
in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
as the awards show was held in Spain for the third time and the first time in Bilbao.


Fairs, contests and celebrations

Several national and international fairs are regularly held in the BEC facilities, including Ferroforma, the Biennial Machine-Tool Fair (BIEMH), and the Euskal Encounter. In the Bizkaia Arena, basketball games, plays, motocross races, and music concerts are held. The main political parties in the region hold campaign events and sometimes their congresses there. Similarly, several labour unions and business organisations hold a variety of meetings and conventions. The
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
have held their May and December meetings there for several years.


Transport

Alongside the construction of the BEC, the Ansio station on line 2 of the
Bilbao metro The Bilbao metro ( es, Metro de Bilbao, eu, Bilboko metroa) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Bilbao and the region of Greater Bilbao. Lines 1 and 2 have a "Y" shape, as they transit both banks of the river Ibaizabal and then combi ...
was built. The station deals with heavy passenger traffic when there is some event at the BEC, so Metro Bilbao offers special services for such events, such as delaying the closing time and stepping up frequencies. Also, opposite the main entrance of the BEC, there are two
Bizkaibus BizkaiBus is the name for bus services serving the province of Biscay, Spain. It is named after the Basque name of the province, ''Bizkaia''. The buses can be identified by their distinctive green (until 2009 yellow) livery. The bus network is i ...
stops: one for the 3142 line (connection with the underground), and line 3136; also close to that entry there is an occasional shuttle service, as well as a bus terminal, which is not in use at this time. Around the centre are other Bizkaibus stops.


References


External links

*
Virtual Tour (Official website)
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Biscay Tourist attractions in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Convention centers in Spain Trade fair venues in Spain Barakaldo Buildings and structures completed in 2004 2004 establishments in Spain