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BILBAO, A 21ST CENTURY CITY
Services and quality of life define the new Bilbao, which five years ago celebrated the 700th anniversary of its foundation immersed in an almost complete transformation. Famous architects, namely Norman Foster, Cesar Pelli and Santiago Calatrava have changed the face of the city and its estuary, which has gained in international projection as a centre for commerce, tourism and culture in Europe.
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This renovation, driven by the public’s and media’s interest in the opening of the modern Guggenheim Museum in 1998, began a remodelling of the metropolitan area which, year after year, adds infrastructures and extensions to its urban fabric. Bilbao currently offers a long list of venues that form part of an extensive Urban Revitalization Plan, such as the Modern Art Museum and Euskalduna Conference Centre – located in the port area of Abandoibarra-, which exist alongside new shopping centres, refurbished public and industrial buildings, modern housing and green areas, all with access to the sea.
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This noteworthy regeneration has particularly focussed on the communications network, and Bilbao’s meeting and service offer. Access and mobility are now more fluid and dynamic thanks to the inauguration of several air and land infrastructures. One example being La Paloma Terminal in Sondica airport, designed by Santiago Calatrava, which is able to receive 4 million passengers a year and over 20 flights an hour. Or the recovery of the old tram under the name of EuskoTran, which has linked the historic town with modern Bilbao over a five kilometre journey since 2002. Or even the construction of Bilbao’s underground. Designed by Norman Foster, it has eased overground traffic and increased pedestrian areas.
Busy meeting activity
As far as conferences, trade shows and meetings within the urban fabric are concerned, the busy activity of new Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) since October 2004, with its 5,500 multipurpose square metres able to adapt to any event, stands out in particular. The complex houses emblematic facilities, such as the Luxúa Pavilion with a seating capacity for 2,000 people, numerous meeting and conference rooms lying along the atrium connecting the pavilions, and its Auditorium that can take up to 960 people. BEC is easily reached by the metropolitan line and is equipped with the latest communication systems.
In 2005, Bilbao and its metropolitan area have also incorporated different hotels within an urban offer, enriched since 2003 with examples like the Miró Hotel, Gran Hotel Domine and the Sheraton Hotel, amongst others. The Hesperia Bilbao and the Novotel Bilbao Barakaldo join this range of accommodation, whose bid for design and architecture exists alongside other classic venues, represented by establishments with a long-standing tradition. The latter hotel facilities include charming venues and former small palaces that have been refurbished, namely the Hotel Carlton, situated in the central Plaza Moyúa.
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The new city centre made up of Paseo de Abandoibarra, the pasarela Pedro Arrupe and Avenida de las Universidades linked by an avenue of sculptures designed by renowned artists, for example Eduardo Chillida, Angel Garraza or Jose Zugasti add to the long list of changes made to the city of the Nervión. Transformations which will continue to incorporate new buildings and alternatives over the next decade, according to other projects in progress.
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Far from creating a parallel focus, these new developments and projects have blended into the urban ensemble, thereby boosting Bilbao’s rich historic quarter, whose commercial epicentre lies at the confluence of Gran Vía and Plaza Moyúa. The districts of Indautxu and El Ensanche are bustling with permanent commercial and financial activity, alternating their traditional offer with designer restaurants and state-of-the-art shops. The mix is mainly concentrated around the traditional La Ribera Market, next to the Church of San Antón, one of Europe’s largest indoor markets and full of the usual flavour and local colour.
New developments coming soon
After the warm welcome received by the Bilbao Estimula, the year of Basque cuisine, the VII 5-Oceans Regatta, beginning in Bilbao’s estuary in November 2006, is taking up considerable attention within the extensive calendar of events taking place in the Biscayan capital over the next year. Set up in 1982 and entitled the BOC Challenge, it is the first single-handed race around the world. It is held every four years and considered to be one of the longest and toughest trials that exist. Over 28,000 nautical miles, this top sailing event, boasting thousands of followers worldwide, will cover the land surface in three stages and return to the city of the Nervión in spring 2007. Up-to-the-minute details on the race are available on Bilbao City Council’s official new web page, a portal that gives news on the city and with the noteworthy incorporation of a new section comprising dates and information of interest to professionals. |
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