The first weekend of June 2024 brought together two of the major philatelic events taking place in Europe, the Madrid National Stamp Fair and the large Paris-Philex 2024 (article).
Of course these are not comparable events. The Madrid Stamp Fair, together with EXFILNA, have remained the two major annual philatelic events in Spain over the years. Correos, via its philately department, puts in significant effort in the preparation of these events, in collaboration with ANFIL -the Spanish association of philatelic dealers- and the FNMT -the Spanish mint-. This Stamp Fair is set up in the Madrid Plaza Mayor, one of the main tourist attractions in the city, and for a few days a year the Plaza becomes a great showcase for the promotion of philately.
In 2024 the 54th National Stamp Fair returned to its usual dates and was held from May Thursday 30th to June Sunday 2nd. As usual, Correos set up a large pavilion, opposite the Casa de la Panadería, with the same layout as in the two previous years. The commercial stands were arranged in two rows along the sides of the pavilion, with the institutions/associations located in the center. These latter were occupied by Correos, ANFIL and FNMT, in addition to an area set aside for presentations, ceremonies and lectures.