Florists and interior designers from across Spain attend Mercabarna-flor’s 40th birthday bash and Xmas themed event

With Christmas less than a month away and in keeping with tradition, Mercabarna-flor held its annual Mercademostraciones on Sunday, 17 November 2024, offering an audience of more than 1,00 florists from across Spain the opportunity to stay on Xmas trends, learn new skills, and network.

There were celebrations all around at Mercademostracione’s annual showcase for flowers and plants for the upcoming holiday season, and the event coincided with the 40th anniversary of its host, Barcelona’s flower wholesale market, Mercabarna-flor.

Barcelona’s former flower market in Calle Lleida (which today is known as Teatre Lliure).

From 19th-century nocturnal sales at the Ramblas in Barcelona to a modern flower wholesale market in Sant Boi de Llobregat, flower wholesale in Spain’s second-largest city has made a remarkable journey.

Left to right: Jordi Valls, Josep Reig, and Pablo Vilanova.

In 1964, an increasingly busy and expensive city centre forced Barcelona’s flower market to move from the Ramblas to the Palace of Agriculture on Carrer Lleida, where it remained until 1984.

Next, it moved to Mercabarna, where the Central Fruit and Vegetable Market and the Central Fish Market were already located, coming from the old Borne Market and Carrer Wellington.

An unfortunate fire in 2001 burnt down the Central Flower Market and forced the Mercabarna management to build a provisional market quickly so that the wholesalers could continue working.

In 2008, a new market was opened in Sant Boi de Llobregat, Mercabarna-flor, a modern space adapted to the wholesale of flowers, plants and accessories to the needs of retail buyers and which allows professionals to meet the challenges posed by changes in buying habits and digital transformation.

The president of Mercabarna and Barcelona’s councillor for Trade, Markets, Tourism and Finance, Mr Jordi Valls, highlighted how “Cities need water, food, energy, flowers and plants, but they are also centres of culture and knowledge. And curiously, on the site of the city’s old wholesale markets, there are now cultural and knowledge centres, such as the Borne Museum Centre, the Teatre LLiure and the future City of Knowledge, which is being built on the site of the old Central Fish Market in Carrer Wellington’.

The vice-president of the Mercabarna-flor wholesalers’ association, Josep Reig, representing the third generation of floral wholesalers who started operating from the Ramblas in Barcelona, explained that “the sales of flowers on the Ramblas began spontaneously at the end of the 19th century when some sellers began selling to wholesalers in the very early hours of the morning. Growers from Baix Llobregat and Maresme began supplying more and more flowers and plants until it became the most important central flower and plant market in Spain.”
Mercabarna’s general manager, Pablo Vilanova, stated that “Mercabarna-flor is now a market of reference in the flower sector. In its 40 years of existence, it has shown remarkable resilience, particularly after the devastating fire in 2001, the 2008 economic crisis and, more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic, when demand for flowers and plants fell sharply.

Mercabarna-flor birthday bash coincided with Mercademonstraciones, attended by 1,000 florists and interior designers from across Spain. If participants were wondering what kind of decorations will be decking the hall this Christmas, they now know the answer is ‘connected with nature’, ‘modern classic design elements, and  ‘textural flowers and plants in different green hues.  What stands out most is the harmony with nature and the rejection of kitsch. So, no artificial snow, synthetic Christmas garlands, or inflatable Santa clauses this year.