MIPCOM Cannes announced Spain as the Country of Honour at the forthcoming 40th edition of the International Co-Production & Entertainment Content Market in Cannes (October 21-24), to be marked with a programme highlighting the country’s significant growth in recent years as a major international production hub and provider of quality content to global audiences. The recognition comes with Spain seeing a marked rise in scripted and non-scripted productions in recent years by both domestic and global producers, and with Spanish content not only consistently ranking amongst the highest viewed worldwide but gaining wider recognition and awards internationally.
A prominent series of events at the mother of all entertainment content markets will both celebrate Spain’s creative sector and promote further international collaboration; events across the week will range from high profile screenings, the staging of producers’ panels focusing on co-production opportunities and a Spanish-themed MIPCOM Cannes Opening Night Party amongst others. Further details of these and further activities will follow.
The programme is curated by MIPCOM Cannes in partnership with ICEX Spain Trade & Investment (public entity of the Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business). The key mission of ICEX, through its umbrella brand Audiovisual from Spain, is to support the international promotion of content and services offered by Spanish production and distribution companies. The Country of Honour activity forms part of the “Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe” plan, a major five year €1.6 billion public investment initiative targeting a 30% rise in audiovisual production in the country by 2025 within the framework of the Recovery Plan, transformation, and resilience funded by NextGenerationUE.
“The Country of Honour is a celebration of a country’s culture and creativity” said Lucy Smith, Director MIPCOM Cannes and MIP London at the event. “Spain’s historical impact on international television is irrefutable and its prominence on the global stage in recent years inescapable. It could not be timelier for Spain to be in the spotlight this year and we have some very special plans in the works to do so spectacularly.”
Pablo Conde, Director General for Internationalisation, ICEX said: “Supporting the internationalisation of Spanish audiovisual companies has a clear objective for us: to expand the opportunities for producing and distributing their projects abroad. We do this by promoting their visibility, creating networking opportunities for our companies with international partners, and facilitating co-production. Being the Country of Honor at MIPCOM Cannes in 2024 will certainly promote these three fundamental aspects. Moreover, it will bring the perfect opportunity to celebrate the excellence, creativity and professionalism of Spain’s content industry."
María González Veracruz, Spain’s Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, said: "Spain being chosen as the Country of Honor at the upcoming edition of MIPCOM Cannes is jumping into the front line of entertainment and audiovisual creation at the international level. This spotlight will illuminate the talent, strength and duende of our industry. It is a leap that can only be good for our companies, the industry’s employment, talent and creativity. Because we can only jump out if we have our feet firmly rooted. That is what we are pursuing with the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan: to consolidate the progress achieved so far, and to ensure that the audiovisual sector continues to be powerful, strategic and has a bright future."
MIPCOM Cannes is the flagship entertainment content market for the international TV industry, attended by over 11, 000 delegates from over 100 countries in 2023. The 40th edition in takes place in Cannes during October 21-24 with MIPJUNIOR, the annual meeting point for the Kids sector returning to its traditional slot ahead of the market of October 19-20 with a pre-opening afternoon on 18 October.
The Country of Honour forms part of a week-long MIPCOM Cannes conference programme which helps define the TV industry year through keynotes from leading global players and thought leaders in addition to screenings of highly anticipated series, future facing summits and exclusive insight presentations. Past Countries of Honour have included Japan, Türkiye, Mexico, France, South Korea and most recently China in 2023.
The Audiovisual from Spain brand will gain more prominence than ever in the traditional Riviera space of the Palais des Festivals. The Seaview Producers Hub, a space dedicated to sessions and networking meetings focused on co-production agreements, will serve as the stage for the multiple activities scheduled during the week dedicated to celebrating Spain as Country of Honour.