The 33rd edition of this sector event was held on 20th November under the title "Mercabarna-flower open to the world", to present the latest and most innovative trends in floral design for 2017, plus the latest ideas in Christmas decorations.

The leitmotiv of this year's edition of ‘Mercademostraciones’ was multiculturalism, as part of a drive by Mercabarna and the Market's business leaders to open up new horizons and to show off floral decoration in a more international light.

Christmas was the inspiration for the morning demonstration, with five schools of floral art presenting their work. The Escola d'Art Floral i Paisatgisme, Deflorarts, la Escuela Española de Arte Floral, Rosa Valls-formació and, for the first time, the French school of CFA des métiers et l'artisanat all shared their decorative ideas, covering a range of different styles, from naturalism and romanticism to the Baroque and the exuberance of gold and silver.

A day full of events

The competitions at ‘Mercademostraciones’ are a well-established tradition. On one hand, six florists took part in the traditional Christmas design contest, in which Odó Garcia's floral reinterpretation of Japanese cuisine won first prize. Fourteen wholesale companies competed in the fir tree decoration contest, where it was Suport Floral, Romero and Reilaflor who captured the top three prizes. A new feature this year was the collaboration of the group of florists "El Art Floral y su gente" in the arrangement of some of the Christmas trees.

What's more, in the course of the day florist Mike Bourguignon gave two conferences for professionals on new developments in the florist sector and e-commerce. Finally, the main afternoon event was a demonstration by the three finalists in the European Floral Art Cup - the Catalan Eduard Maynegra, the Finnish Pirjo Koppi and the Rumanian Nicolae Bocancea - who showed off the very latest trends in floral design, techniques and products before an audience of 300.