IFEMA and UNIPUBLIC have reached an agreement by which the Madrid institution will become one of the official sponsors of the "Tour of Spain 2005" and the exclusive sponsor of the "Tour of Spain 2005" Grand Prix.

This support for the most important national cycling competition in Spain and one of the three most important cycling events in the world, is yet another example of the backing that IFEMA provides within the sporting field through a series of different initiatives and its promotion of Madrid's bid for the 2012 Olympics. It represents an excellent opportunity to strengthen the trade fair organization's image both in Spain and at an international level.    

IFEMA's contribution to the Tour of Spain 2005 will be publicized widely in advertising spaces, on vehicles and on informative materials at the starting-point, the finish line and throughout the Tour. IFEMA will appear on the cycling competition's most important emblem, the Golden Jersey, as well as on other highly visible elements, such as the finish-line banner and towers, the podium and all kinds of accreditation materials, shirts and panels.

IFEMA's role as the leading trade fair organizer in Spain, a position it has held since 1994, and the universal recognition it enjoys throughout the entire country, justify its presence at an event of this kind. At the present time, some 56% of the exhibiting companies and 53% of the visiting professionals that participate at the fairs organized by IFEMA come from regions other than Madrid.

The Madrid trade fair institution currently hosts the staging of more than 70 fairs a year, featuring the participation of around 22,000 exhibitors and 4 million visitors. These figures confirm its leading position, based on a market share of nearly 40%.

In addition, the foreign projection of the Spanish Tour has a direct impact on the goal of promoting the international dimension of IFEMA's activities, this being one of the trade fair organizer's main priorities.  In the year 2004, 19% of the exhibitors and 7% of the professionals that attended the fairs organized by IFEMA came from abroad, mainly from the countries of the European Union. In this respect, the international broadcast of the Spanish Tour will enable IFEMA to promote its image in some key geographical areas and countries, especially in Europe, (specifically in Portugal, Italy and France, its main markets), as well as in future markets such as the USA, Latin America and China.

In the last few years IFEMA has focused strongly on the foreign markets , implementing a series of international promotion campaigns, such as the measures it took in the year 2004, a period in which it  strengthened its network of representative bodies abroad. it invested more strongly in promotional measures and advertising in the international media and it promoted its foreign buyer invitation programmes.

Furthermore, IFEMA signed agreements with other trade fair institutions and foreign trade bodies. Thus, IFEMA renewed the agreement it signed with the US Foreign Trade Department that was secured in the year 2002 in order to increase the presence of American exporters at the fairs organized by  IFEMA.

At the same time, the Madrid trade fair institution has carried out a feasibility study for the design, construction and management of a new fairground in Beijing. Having completed this study, the aim is now to establish forms of cooperation with the CIEC (China International Exhibition Center Group), with which to explore joint-working areas, preferably within the commercial field, whilst also ensuring mutual representation in the two countries.

In this sense, the opportunities this kind of sponsorship offers within the context of public relations and relational marketing throughout all the different Spanish regions are excellent, especially with regard to the wide-ranging business community that is closely linked to IFEMA's fair activities.

The sixtieth edition of the Tour of Spain will feature some 21 stages and will take place between 27th August and 18th September 2005.