The leading trade fair for ‘made in Spain’ interiors is set to return, as a major international edition, alongside the kitchen and home textiles offerings and at the same time as Valencia celebrates being World Design Capital 2022.
Valencia, 17th June 2021.- Preparations for the next edition of Feria Hábitat Valencia start now. The Valencia International Furniture, Lighting and Décor Fair has set definitive dates for its 56th edition, which is now slated to run from 20th to 23rd September 2022, at Feria Valencia. The last edition of the fair took place in 2019 and will be back coinciding with the major international trade fairs all returning to normal, and Valencia celebrating being World Design Capital.
Hábitat is thus aiming to stage “the best design centred international fair there has ever been in Valencia”, according to the event’s director, Daniel Marco. The best conditions for delivering this will come about in 2022, in the context the industry’s global trade fair circuit returning to full normality as they are staged once more in their usual formats and 100% face-to-face.
“The most recent editions of Hábitat had delivered 30% annual growth and we had achieved a high standard in terms of European trade fairs, with a high-quality offering and an increasingly international pool of visitors”, Marco explains, adding that “Following the pandemic, the sector is calling for us to continue to lead the field, which us why we have set our sights on 2022”
Valencia 2022, a year set to hero design
The 2022 edition of Hábitat will therefore be a “unique and very special” edition, according to Marco. This is because the furniture, lighting and décor fair will be taking place, for the first time, at the same time as specialist kitchen furnishings and equipment fair Espacio Cocina SICI, and well-established home textiles, contract, and décor event Home Textiles Premium by Textilhogar. The three events together will have huge power to draw an audience of highly professional visitors.
What is more, 2022 is already a major year for the international circuit of design-centred events, with Valencia designated World Design Capital for the year. The city will be celebrating in style. As has already been intimated, September’s Feria Hábitat Valencia will be one of the key attractions in the programme of events scheduled to celebrate València World Design Capital 2022.
“We have a huge responsibility and an historic opportunity as well, with Valencia being Word Design Capital. September 2022 and Feria Hábitat València will be the high point of the celebrations. The eyes of the world will be on Valencia and the fair is where all of the effort being invested in design and the potential it offers, not just in Valencia but across Spain, will be on view”, Hábitat’s director explains.
Support from business
In this regard, Hábitat’s technical team had a meeting recently with a significant number of business owners and other industry representatives to talk about the next edition of the fair. Attendees included Juan Carlos Muñoz, president of trade association Anieme; Maria Ángeles Muñoz, of lighting association Fedai; Ligia Rodrigo, general secretary of Comerç Moble – Comercios Hábitat Comunitat Valenciana; Pepe Cosín, dean of the Comunitat Valenciana Guild of Interior designers (CDICV); Yolanda Herráiz, vice-president of the Comunidad Valenciana Association of Designers (ADCV) and Vicent Martínez, representing the Valencia World Design Capital 2020 steering committee.
The meeting addressed the outlook for the forthcoming fair, and it was emphasised that the mighty Hábitat 2022 project has the full support of business, given that next year’s event offers all the assurances the trade requires in terms of promoting the industry and the prospects of business being done. When the last edition of Feria Hábitat Valencia took place, the fair had already positioned itself as the most representative, international, and influential fair for the industry in Spain. The Feria Valencia event welcomed a total of 32,796 tade visitors, 15% of whom came from 70 different countries. The offering featured 503 exhibitors – 24% international companies – displaying their goods across 65,000 square metres.
