Rio de Janeiro is the chosen destination for the G20 summit in November next year, with key Brazilian cities hosting smaller meetings throughout the year. They include Fortaleza, and there will be at least four G20 events in Ceará in 2024. The Ceará Events Centre (CEC) in Fortaleza is the chosen venue and, as a result, organisation for the occasion is already underway.
G20 events in Ceará
This state in Northeast Brazil will host meetings about employment and education at the G20 summit. The mini-summits take place between July and October, and each will bring together some 200 foreign delegates in Fortaleza as they discuss key topics ahead of the November meet-up.
Ceará tourism authorities underlined the significance of these meetings for tourist activity and revenue in the state. “The G20 meetings will boost Ceará tourism during the four-month period,” said Yrwana Albuquerque, head of tourism in the state, “as well as the business sector.”
She also highlighted the amenities at the CEC, which she described as “excellent for this type of events at world level”. In addition, she emphasised that Ceará has the ideal tourist infrastructure to receive international delegations.
Early preparations
The first meeting of state ministers and CEC management discussed the G20 events in Ceará. On the agenda were airport and hotel infrastructure in Fortaleza, as key reception and accommodation centres for delegates.
The meeting also looked at the logistical and cultural programme involved in the G20 events in Ceará in 2024. Albuquerque highlighted the importance of early preparation to ensure the events are successful and showcase Ceará in the best light on the worldwide stage.
CEC celebrates its 11th anniversary
For its part, the CEC recently celebrated 11 years at the forefront of event tourism in Brazil. The President of Embratur (the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion), Marcelo Freixo, highlighted the importance of CEC within the national context.
“I don’t know other centres of a comparable size as the Ceará Events Centre,” he said. As a result, the CEC is one of the most important in the country.
In its first decade, over 980 events took place. By July 2023 this year, this number reached 1,000. Among the most important are the Arte Music Festival, with Jennifer Lopez on stage, and the BRICS summit, with heads of state from China, India, Russia and South Africa.
(Source: SETUR)
