Barcelona champions its bid to host the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in 2029 in Antalya

Barcelona’s bid to host the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the world’s leading annual space congress, enters its final stage with 177 international endorsements and the backing of the Spanish and Catalan governments. The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) will select the winning bid from the three candidates — Barcelona, Houston and Geneva — on Friday, 9 October, the final day of the 2026 congress.

This year, the congress takes place from 4 to 9 October in the Turkish city of Antalya. An institutional delegation led by Spain’s Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, and the Catalan Minister for Business and Labour, Miquel Sàmper, has travelled there to support the bid.

The IAC brings together thousands of representatives from governments, space agencies, companies, research centres and universities worldwide every year. Barcelona’s bid arrives in Antalya with 177 formal letters of support, including 77 directly from IAF members. According to the Department of Business and Labour, this mobilisation is “particularly significant” because it comes from members of the international community that organises and drives the congress. The Department states that the level of support places Barcelona “among the bids with one of the broadest and most diverse international support bases in the selection process” and demonstrates that it is “more than just a local or national proposal”, enjoying “recognition from the global space community”.

The bid’s representatives will argue that Barcelona offers a “unique combination of world-class conference facilities, international connectivity, a scientific and technological ecosystem, and a proven ability to organise major global events”. They will also emphasise that Barcelona is proposing not only to host a congress, “but to turn IAC 2029 into a platform connecting the international space community, scientific talent and younger generations”. They will further underline that Barcelona’s bid “aligns with a vision of space as a tool for addressing major global challenges, from sustainability and climate management to territorial resilience and digital transformation”.

Source: ACN