The Board of Directors of Fira de Barcelona has appointed Carlos Franquesa Castrillo, Fluidra's president for Southern Europe, Australia and New Zealand, as president of the Organising Committee for Piscina Barcelona 2027.

Carlos Franquesa succeeds Eloi Planes at the head of the international swimming pool and Wellness show

Franquesa takes over from Eloi Planes, Executive Chairman of Fluidra, who has led the event since 2011 through seven editions and now becomes Chairman Emeritus. The next edition of Piscina Barcelona will take place from 15 to 18 November 2027 at the Gran Via venue.

With a solid track record in the swimming pool industry, Carlos Franquesa (Barcelona, 1963) has spent nearly two decades at Fluidra, where he has held various senior management roles in the industrial, commercial and international management sectors. He currently leads the company's operations in Southern Europe, Australia and New Zealand, key markets for the group's strategic development.
Before joining Fluidra in 2007, Franquesa began his professional career at Square D, now a subsidiary of the Schneider Group, and subsequently held various management positions at companies within the Cirsa Group.
He holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from ESADE and has extensive experience in leadership, business management, and the development of industrial organisations.

In his new role as head of the organising committee for Piscina Barcelona 2027, Franquesa embarks on a period of continuity and further development to strengthen the event's international profile and adapt its offering to the sector's new demands. His mandate will focus on driving the trade fair's growth and incorporating new areas linked to the swimming pool, wellness, and outdoor spaces sectors.

I am taking on the challenge of continuing to promote a trade fair that keeps pace with the swimming pool sector's development, expanding its offering and reinforcing its role as an international meeting point for companies and professionals

says Carlos Franquesa.

Global outlook on Piscina Barcelona

Piscina Barcelona 2025 knew a record-breaking edition marked by major highlights for the pool and wellness industry. The event consolidated its role as one of the sector's leading international events, bringing together 428 exhibiting companies from 30 countries and attracting more than 17,000 professionals. The high level of international participation shows the exhibition connects the global swimming pool, wellness, and outdoor spaces industry.

The fair's links with Europe, Latin America and strategic markets such as the Middle East, together with the significance of the Spanish market--the second largest in Europe and fourth in the world by number of swimming pools--are key factors in attracting companies and professionals from around the world and establishing Barcelona as one of the sector's leading international hubs.

Under the leadership of Carlos Franquesa, with the involvement of the Organising Committee and the support of the trade association ASOFAP and other sector-specific associations and organisations, Piscina Barcelona is already working on the 2027 edition, designed to meet the needs of the international swimming pool, wellness and outdoor sectors.