The 14,000 congressmen who visited Barcelona this week for the annual convention of the multinational McDonald's said goodbye to the Catalan capital this Thursday after leaving an economic impact of 24.5 million euros and attending a private concert by Dua Lipa and The Killers at the Palau Sant Jordi.
After four days of meetings, the activity of those attending the convention, among whom are employees, franchisees and suppliers of the company from the hundred countries where it operates, has extended to the city's nightlife and restaurant sector. count.
The Catalan Federation of Associations of Restoration and Musical Activities (Fecasarm) has informed EFE that the economic impact of the convention in Barcelona is estimated at around 24.5 million euros, with a daily expense of around 350 euros per person.
This is because the participants have taken advantage of their free time to explore the city's cultural and entertainment offerings, including Michelin-starred restaurants and world-class Barcelona nightclubs.
On the day of the start of the convention, which is held every two years and this time reaches its 30th edition, around a thousand attendees were able to enjoy a private event at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC).
But one of the favorite destinations of the congressmen has been the Shôko Barcelona nightclub, which, for example, last night organized a private event for McDonald's workers in Canada.
Likewise, Fecasarm has stated that the event has triggered a flood of reservations in accommodation and restaurants, so that many of the American firm's workers have even been forced to look for alternatives in nearby towns, such as Sitges, Castelldefels or even Girona.
The congressmen, who are celebrating this event outside of North America for the first time as they have always met in the US and Canada, highlighted upon their arrival at the Palau Sant Jordi the cultural attraction and atmosphere of Barcelona. Some were dressed in corporate clothing, others dressed in street clothes and even some in suits.
"We have been able to visit the city with people whom we see every two years. We have had a great time," Seamus Rawle, an employee of the company in Ireland, who came with his two children as guests, told EFE.
His son Killian, who does not hide that his main motivation is the Dua Lipa and The Killers concert, has said: "It is something strange to attend a concert so early - 17 hours -, it is different from our country. We even go to eat afterwards of the Show".
One of those who has had a shorter trip is Joaquim Jorge, from Portugal, who celebrates not having to travel as far as in other editions of the convention.
"It is more comfortable to do it in Europe because it is usually in the United States and I think it will be held again outside of America," highlighted the Portuguese worker.
"Ending with a concert is great, I'm very excited. I'm a big fan of Dua Lipa," said Eliziane Ramos, invited through McDonalds in Brazil.
The highlight of the week has therefore been a concert at the Palau Sant Jordi to exclusively see Dua Lipa, who this week has sparked a furor on social networks for her walks without security personnel through the Catalan city - inappropriate for someone with 75.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify-, and The Killers.
One of the most iconic scenes of Dua Lipa's visit to the Catalan capital took place this Wednesday, when she was seen holding hands with her partner, the actor and model Callum Turner, standing in line at the DelaCrem ice cream parlor on Enric Granados Street. .
Dua Lipa, a few hours after releasing her new song Illusion, which will be part of her new studio album Radical Optimism, has also shared through her social networks the video clip of the song, recorded in the Barcelona municipal swimming pools of Montjuïc.
With the expectation of what the new album by the British singer of Albanian origin will be like, around noon this Thursday, thousands of congressmen came to the Montjuïc Olympic Ring, next to the venue where the show took place.
And they have done it with the hope of singing and dancing to the rhythm of hits like One Kiss, Levitating or, the most recent, Houdini, by Dua Lipa, and Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young or Mr. Brightside, by The Killers.
