Barcelona New Economy Week 2026 to convene 12,000 attendees across eight industrial verticals

Event overview and sector verticals

The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) will hold the seventh edition of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW) from 5 to 7 October 2026 at the DFactory Barcelona building. The three-day event will bring together an estimated 12,000 attendees and 270 speakers across 50 conference sessions and panels. The hybrid format combines in-person activities with digital streaming across eight dedicated channels and three television sets. Organizers structured the program around eight economic verticals, incorporating five new tracks alongside three established sectors.

The 2026 edition introduces artificial intelligence, gaming, agrofood, energy, and science, which join the existing verticals of health, talent, and aviation and space. Executive president Pere Navarro noted during the presentation on 30 September that the forum prioritizes real economic output over financial market speculation.

We will speak about productive economy, not speculative.

The daily schedule divides topics across the three days. AI, agrofood, and science take place on Monday, 5 October, followed by talent, aviation and space, and health on Tuesday, 6 October. The event concludes on Wednesday, 7 October with energy, gaming, and the startup competition pitches.

Hands-on technology and startup hub

Beyond traditional panel discussions, BNEW will feature more than 50 experiential activities designed to give attendees direct contact with emerging technologies. Demonstrations will include an F-18 fighter jet cockpit simulation, driving simulators, an autonomous vehicle, a Formula 1 car powered by renewable energy, and collaborative robotic systems. Attendees can also view a surgical robot, engage with humanoid robots, test a machine capable of playing tic-tac-toe, and inspect 3D ceramic printing applications.

The BNEW Startup Innovation Hub will host more than 100 participating startup projects. A selection committee chose five finalists across each of the eight verticals, resulting in 40 companies competing for the Best Startup BNEW 2026 award. Finalists will deliver five-minute project presentations during the morning of 7 October. General director Blanca Sorigué emphasized that the platform focuses on connecting early-stage ventures with established corporate partners and capital providers.

Entrepreneurial talent needs showcases, but above all, it needs opportunities.

Sector metrics and facility expansion

The inclusion of new verticals reflects broader economic benchmarks presented by CZFB leadership. The video game industry in Spain accounts for over 2,200 million euros in revenue and 23 million active players, representing 47.5% of the population. The agrofood sector contributes more than 135,000 million euros to the national economy (equivalent to 9% of gross domestic product), employs 2.6 million professionals, and generates 422 million euros in research and development investment.

The forum will feature specialists from academia, medicine, and corporate industry, including Diego Perino from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, geneticist Gemma Marfany from the University of Barcelona, and institutional leaders from Grifols, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, and Hospital del Mar. CZFB also confirmed that construction on the DFactory facility expansion will finish at the end of 2026. The expansion will increase the technology hub from 17,000 square metres to 60,000 square metres to accommodate additional tech companies beyond the 54 currently operating on site.