We headed to Barcelona for a trade mission to represent the UK in Europe.

The trade mission involved attending the three day Smart City Expo World Congress 2022. There was a tour of Tech Barcelona and many other events including a gathering in the UK Consulate in Barcelona.

The first event was in the UK Consulate in Barcelona on Avinguda Diagonal. This was attended by a variety of British companies and Trade Office staff. We were treated to panoramic views of the Barcelona skyline from the Consulate.

The next event was an evening reception above the Arenas Mall at Quinto Quinta. Yet again fantastic panoramic views of the Barcelona skyline. This event was attended by delegates from a mix of English speaking countries such as Australia, Canada and Ireland.

The Smart Cities Expo opened on the Tuesday and we were invited to have a tour of the Expo. We had chats with SNCF, Korea and Japan. During the expo we experienced a plethora of innovative technology including Virtual Reality and robots.

On the Tuesday evening there was a joint gathering held by Invest in Northern Ireland for the British and Northern Irish delegates.

Wednesday saw a tour of a massive stand belonging to Microsoft with at least 20 businesses showcasing their talents. This included the likes of Accenture.

Thursday was a guided tour of Tech Barcelona. We got to see inside the offices of a variety of companies and even onto the roof.

The final part of the week involved a trip to La Pedrera. This was an amazing hologram virtual experience tour of the historical architecture at La Pedrera.

We would like to thank many people the Trade Office who enabled the trip. This was well organised and we would recommend working with the UK Trade Office.