April is Barcelona and Madrid Month in the Guild

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Grey Swan Guild

9 min readApr 4, 2023

Our 23rd Feature Cities and Why Spain’s World Cities are So Amazing by Many World Standards

“There is no nightlife in Spain. They stay up late but they get up late. That is not nightlife. That is delaying the day.” — Ernest Hemingway

We’re excited to convene with Barcelona & Madrid on our 23rd Feature City Guild Town Hall later in the month and feature Spain’s two twin towers of urban metropolises in April.

Let’s bring the best minds, builders, experts, change agents, futurists, leaders and sensemakers of Spain’s two most innovative cities.

Our guild’s mission is to make sense of the world’s biggest challenges and next Grey Swans. Come join us as we think local and act global.

We are a global guild making sense of the world’s biggest challenges and next Grey Swans, and in our feature cities, getting people to think locally and connect locally.

The Grey Swan Guild is:
- 60+ customized events and experiences annually
- Hundreds of columns and articles of clarifying content, podcasts and publications ahead of their time
- 11 ambitious Cygnus Ventures making a difference in the world
- well-crafted monthly learning experiences and masterclasses
- 8+ waves of more-than-superficial intelligence and foresight
- a passionate and wickedly smart global network of thousands of executive members

Come meet the founders at our Town Hall and dive deep into our world of potential. Join us for the Town Hall and stay for the a one-of-a-kind and valuable, ongoing “fifth place” experience.

Pre-register here for our April 26th event: https://bit.ly/gsgspain

Sign up here four our April 26th Town hall:: https://bit.ly/gsgspain

“Any reasonable, sentient person who looks at Spain, comes to Spain, eats in Spain, drinks in Spain, they’re going to fall in love. Otherwise, there’s something deeply wrong with you. This is the dream of all the world.” — Anthony Bourdain

What Makes Madrid So Special

Madrileños,, sign up here four our April 26th Town hall:: https://bit.ly/gsgspain

World’s Best Cities 2022 puts Madrid in tenth place among global cities around the world.

Madrid received the prestigious title of Cultural Landscape from UNESCO.

Madrid has been named best travel destination (World Travel Awards), best city to visit at Christmas (eBooking) and best destination (Time magazine).

Euromonitor International ranked Madrid in first on its list of the world’s sustainable urban destinations.

Madrid was viewed as the ninth-best destination for investment (Urban Strategies at the Mori Memorial Foundation in Japan).

Madrid suffered early on in the pandemic but has bounced back bulking up a large investment in its infrastructure and public assets that is fuelling the Spanish capital’s city-building legacy like few eras before.

The heart of the nation’s art world, is flanked by the Prado Museum, with the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum and the Reina Sofía art center.

More than 20+recently high-end hotels and more than 50 restaurants have opened in Madrid in 2022, with almost that many slated for 2023.

Madrid’s measures to combat climate change include a 47-mile urban forest network with nearly half-a-million new trees that will connect the city’s existing forest masses and reuse derelict sites between roads and buildings.

The city ranks #23 for safety globally.

Madrid ranked 4th in the latest annual ranking of European cities by investment potential link.

On Time Out — 94 percent of people praised the Spanish capital for its food and drink, 95 percent of locals rate its art and culture great, 86 percent of locals say the city’s nightlife is excellent. only 1 percent of would describe their city as boring.

Startups: Madrid has more than 3,400 startups and scale-ups in diverse sectors such as finance, health, marketing, business software, or transportation stand out. This has made Madrid the fifth region in Europe for startups. Every year more than 240 financing rounds are registered.

Unicorns: Madrid is seventh in the number of unicorns and is the fourth in the number of entities.

Madrid Innovation:

https://cities-innovation-oecd.com/cities/madrid-esp/

Madrid has 46 academic institutions, 93 accelerators and 35 workspaces:

The University: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
The Incubator: Madrid Food Innovation Hub
The Campus: Patio Madrid
The Companies: Cabify, Idealista, Allfunds
The VC: Seaya Ventures
The Event: South Summit Madrid
The Entity: Madrid Innovation Lab
The Platform: Decide Madrid
The Ecosystem: EU Startups
The Book: Innovate Madrid

“I would sooner be a foreigner in Spain than in most countries. How easy it is to make friends in Spain!” — George Orwell

Madrid’s top minds, builders and change agents pre-register here: https://bit.ly/gsgspain

What Makes Barcelona So Special

Barcelonians, sign up here four our April 26th Town hall:: https://bit.ly/gsgspain

Barcelona is ranked #6 on World Best Cities

Barcelona (ranked ninth) score well in the latest annual ranking of European cities by investment potential prepared by PwC and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) link.

The Telegraph ranked Barcelona top city to visit, attributable to its world-class architecture, thriving arts and culture scene, culture, history, food and security. and more than 2,500 hours of sunshine per year. Barcelona has near-perfect weather year-round, three miles of beaches within city limits, iconic parks, striking architecture and colorful neighborhoods that are artsy, cosmopolitan and bohemian.

Barcelona ranks #6 in the Destination Place to visit category, which measures both the natural and built environments of a city with 12 million tourists annually, almost double its entire regional population.

Barcelona has had the #3 city ranking for global Nightlife pre-COVID.

Barcelona has 125 miles of bike lanes, with another 20 to be completed by 2023 with Sant Joan, recently named one of the world’s best streets by Time Out.

The city’ is ranked top 10 Outdoors ranking and #10-ranked Sights & Landmarks.

The reopening of the area’s stunning 17th-century Teatre Principal is happening in 2024.

Barcelona comes fourth when asked what city we would all like to move to — culture, gastronomy, the heat — have surely helped too.

The highlights of Barcelona include several architectural gems listed as World Heritage sites by UNESCO and 19 Michelin-starred restaurants.

Many of the world’s best bars, the airport just a few kilometres from the centre, the ample beaches, the inclusive LGTBI scene, low-emission credentials and security.

The city’s 100+ museums and 39 5-star hotels were also considered in placing the city ahead of the rest.

94 percent of locals didn’t describe their city as boring and only 11 percent described their fellow Barcelonians as rude

Barcelona Innovation:

https://cities-innovation-oecd.com/cities/barcelona-esp/

Barcelona has 33 academic institutions, 35 accelerators and 16 workspaces:

The University: University of Barcelona
The Incubator: Barcelona Activa
The Campus: TecnoCampus
The Companies: Glovo, TravelPerk, Wallbox
The VC: Seedrocket
The Event: Smart City Expo Congress Barcelona
The Entity: Pier01
The Platform: Meet Barcelona
The Ecosystem: EU-Startups
The Book: Smart City Barcelona
The Team: FC Barcelona — viewed as most innovative team in the world

Barcelona’s top minds, builders and change agents pre-register here: https://bit.ly/gsgspain

Interesting Known Rivalry:

Let’s be honest most rivalries involve cities that historcially have had a clear #1 team and a lesser-light (e.g. Yankees-Red Sox, Canadiens-Maple Leafs, Chiefs-Raiders) but in the history of the El Clásico (the name given to the rivarly match) — Real Madrid very narrowly leads in head-to-head results in competitive matches with 101 wins to Barcelona’s 100 with 52 draws (although at the time of this writing, they are playing again tomorrow, it could easily even up).

“For austere and gracious allegory, as for so much of its mysticism and its chivalry, its ardours and its endurances, the world is in debt to Spain.” — Helen Waddell

#spain #madrid #barcelona #thinkers #doers #leaders #experts #futurists #sensemakers #strategists #innovators #intrapreneurs #entrepreneurs #changeagents #researchers #greyswanguild

Grey Swan Feature City Town Halls

Think Global, But Connect Local in Global Outposts Throughout the World

Each and every month, we feature major cities from across the world to be profiled. Usually on the last Wednesday of each feature city month we invite members from these cities to an online Feature City Guild Town Hall with the seeds sewn for a real live get together in a post-pandemica future.

The Grey Swan Guild has a core driving mission of “making sense of the world’s biggest challenges and next Grey Swans”. If this intrigues you, read on.

Scan for our Upcoming Feature Cities of 2023 (Guild Cities #20–#31) below, pre-register to join and/or refer others. This year we have doubled up, not one but two related cities at the same time. The world can’t wait for more Guild:

January : Oslo/Bergen, Norway
February: Mexico City/Guadaljara, Mexico
March: Denver/Boulder, Colorado
April: Bracelona/Madrid, Spain
May: Dubai/Abu Dhabi, UAE
June: Calgary/Edmonton, Canada
July: Berlin/Munich, Germany
August: Melbourne/Brisbane, Australia
September: Atlanta/Georgia, USA
October: Rome/Milan, Italy
November: Tokyo/Osaka, Japan
December: New York/New Jersey, USA

The Craft Building Series — Learning, Relearning and Unlearning

Every month we host unique sessions that aid our guild in building our craft in making sense of the world, because learning has no finish line.

Our experiences attempt to mint four key elements together

passionate intelligent people
smart relevant topics
multimedia events and curation
a mission of making sense of the world

We think we achieved this alchemy in our first session of 2023.

Have a look at our full 2023 Craft-Building Series (and our soon to be launched premium Masterclasses).

https://greyswanguild.medium.com/the-2023-grey-swan-guild-craft-building-series-3d37e8c00b3c

Next Craft Building Event #56 — Know-How, Craft and Intuition

Come join us on Tuesday April 11th on how to build mastery in what ytou do. Hosted by Joanna Dehn. Click here.

Pre-register here:

https://www.linkedin.com/events/7046148326865481728

Cygnus Ventures (powered by Grey Swan Guild ) — Improving Our Craft Together

Now coming up to our 4th year of our Guild, we have built eleven ventures to tap into the enourmous value and reservoir of talent found inside the Guild.

Here’s what you can do in the Guild:

Learn about the Guild: https://www.greyswanguild.org/
Read our Content: https://greyswanguild.medium.com/
Attend our Events: https://www.greyswanguild.org/calendar
Become an Official Guild Member: https://bit.ly/gsgsmemberform
Go Deeper as a Global Sensemaker: https://bit.ly/lofsenseform
Learn more about our ventures: https://www.greyswanguild.org/cygnusventures
Join a Venture: https://bit.ly/joincygnusventures
Participate in 2023 Guild events & projects: https://bit.ly/gsgparticipationregister2023

Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work. To get directly involved in any one of our 11 Cygnus Ventures (powered by the Grey Swan Guild) including producing or hoisting our Craft Building Series, click here.