Talent Arena developers' fair welcomes 20,000 attendees in first edition

The first event dedicated to digital talent in Europe, Talent Arena, closed its first edition after welcoming 20,000 attendees during the first days of March.

Once the event was over, organizers reported that there were 115 different nationalities, and 53% of the attendees had senior roles in 1,500 companies.

During the three-day event, many software developers were able to network with technology companies, take part in 'hackathons,' innovative workshops, and listen to some over 220 conferences organized in the Fira de Montjuïc halls.

Talent Arena is an initiative by MWCapital to make the city an international technology hub.

Attendees focused on several key technology areas at Talent Arena, including developing on the latest innovations such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, or quantum computing. They also listened to some significant figures in the developing world, such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak or AI expert and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.

Wozniak, for example, talked about his beginnings but also showed discontent with current technocrats entering politics. He believes that the skills required to run a government are different from those needed in a tech company.

Google's product vice president Xavier Amatriain, and the company's engineer director Pilar Manchón were also speakers. The head of the Artificial Intelligence faculty at MIT, Antonio Torralba, was also present at the event.

Overall, around 40% of attendees were women, as organizers wanted to visualize the presence of women in decision-making roles in tech companies.

The 2026 edition will also take place at the Fira Montjuïc from March 2 to 4 with the goal of strengthening the fair as a European digital talent event.