A three-day, two-night convention in Barcelona is the classic format for a kick-off or sales conference with travelling teams: a first day of arrivals and the core message, a second day of content, team activity and an awards gala, and a final morning to close. We organise venue, programme, production, gala and transfers with a single team.
Why three days and two nights?
Three days cover everything a sales conference needs without leaving the group exhausted. Day one absorbs the travel and is used to present the strategy. Day two is the full day: content in the morning, an activity that mixes teams, free time and the gala in the evening. Day three locks in commitments and lets everyone get home at a reasonable hour.
It is the format most used by companies with teams from several countries, distributor conventions and kick-offs that include awards. This programme is an indicative starting point that we adapt to your flights, your content and your company culture.
Why Montjuïc: InterContinental, Poble Espanyol and the MNAC?
Keeping the programme in one area saves coach time and gives the three days coherence. InterContinental Barcelona, next to Plaça d'Espanya, has 273 guest rooms, 22 meeting rooms, 3,000 m² of meeting space and capacity for 1,000 people theatre style. It has a spa, an outdoor pool and a rooftop terrace for downtime.
We propose the welcome dinner at Poble Espanyol, a site with a dozen spaces where the informal first-night dinner fits effortlessly, and whose Plaza Mayor takes up to 1,200 people for a banquet.
The gala goes to the MNAC. Its 1,600 m² Sala Oval hosts up to 1,200 people for a banquet and its scale impresses any group. There we produced Noatum's 60th anniversary, with castellers building human towers in the middle of the hall and a fast-track set-up adapted to the museum's rules, and Provital's gathering during In-Cosmetics. We know how things work in a museum: load-in times, protection of the collection and short set-up windows.
How does the programme scale from 100 to 500 people?
| Attendees |
Accommodation |
Gala |
Team activity |
| 100 to 200 |
InterContinental |
MNAC spaces with views, more intimate than the Sala Oval |
Team challenge or castells workshop |
| 200 to 270 |
InterContinental on a large block |
Sala Oval with a smaller stage |
Team challenge in several waves |
| 270 to 500 |
InterContinental plus a second hotel nearby, or Hotel Arts |
Sala Oval with a full stage |
Several activities in parallel |
The practical limit at this hotel is bedrooms, not meeting rooms. With more than about 270 people staying, we combine two nearby hotels or move the base to Hotel Arts, with 483 rooms, and keep the gala at the MNAC.
Logistics and transfers
The hotel is about 25 minutes by coach from the airport and a few minutes from Sants station. We coordinate arrival manifests with your company's travel agency and arrange pick-ups in time slots.
Distances between the hotel, Poble Espanyol and the MNAC are short, but Montjuïc is hilly. That is why evening transfers are always by coach, even when walking is possible: nobody wants to climb steps in evening wear. On the way back, departures run in rounds so nobody waits longer than necessary.
The gala: the moment the team remembers
The plenary delivers the message, but the gala is what people talk about afterwards. We treat it as a project in its own right, with its own show flow, winners' videos, rehearsal and plan B. Drinks on the museum terraces, dinner in the Sala Oval, awards on stage between courses and a short party. You will find more ideas on gala dinners and in our guide to gala dinners for large groups.
If you are after an even more experiential format, [re] Conventions Experience is our turnkey convention format built on venues with character, post-congress activities and networking.
What changes with the season
January and February are the classic kick-off months; September marks the start of the second half. In spring and autumn the MNAC terraces and the Montjuïc challenge are at their best. In summer we move the activity to early morning or onto the water. Before fixing dates, check the trade fair calendar: Fira Montjuïc is right next to the hotel and the area fills up during major trade show weeks.
Budget: what it depends on
- Accommodation: two nights per person, hotel category and tourist tax.
- Meeting rooms: plenary, breakouts, exhibition area and build-up days.
- Gala: venue hire, catering, stage, entertainment and party.
- Welcome dinner and team activity.
- Technical production and content: host, speakers, videos and design.
- Transfers: arrivals, departures and evening shuttles.
We explain this in detail in how much a convention in Barcelona costs. If three days feels like one too many, compare with the 2-day programme; if you want to add an incentive element, with the 4-day or longer programme. And if you would rather leave the city, see the convention in Montserrat or on the Costa Brava.
Tell us about your convention and within 24 business hours we will send you a proposal with hotel, gala, agenda and an itemised estimate.
Sources
- InterContinental Barcelona: factsheet
- MNAC: Sala Oval
- MNAC: alquiler de espacios
- Poble Espanyol: Plaza Mayor
- Poble Espanyol: espacios para eventos
- Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona: catálogo de espacios de la Llotja de Mar 2026
- Hotel Arts Barcelona: eventos
