Pope Leo XIV's visit to Spain generated 139.48 million euros in economic impact, report says

Pope Leo XIV's visit to Spain from June 6 to 12, 2026, had a total estimated economic impact of 139.48 million euros in Gross Value Added (GVA), according to a socioeconomic report prepared by EY. The report was commissioned by the Spanish Bishops' Conference, Spain's counterpart of the USCCB, along with the Archdiocese of Madrid, the Archdiocese of Barcelona, the Diocese of the Canary Islands and the Diocese of Tenerife. The study used input-output methodology based on the input-output tables published by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE). The celebrations ran over four days in Madrid, Barcelona, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. About 2.31 million people attended, the visit generated 3,080 full-time equivalent jobs across the Spanish economy, and 18,225 volunteers worked a combined 479,867 hours.

Structure of the economic impact: organization and attendance

The total of 139.48 million euros breaks down into three components. The direct impact came to 56.32 million euros, 40.38 percent of the total, covering the initial spending by the organizing bodies and what those attending spent. Of that figure, the organizations invested 10.10 million euros and attendees accounted for 46.22 million euros in direct spending.

The indirect impact was put at 50.32 million euros, 36.08 percent of the total. This covers activity generated along the supply chain when companies hired by the organizers and service providers had to buy materials, equipment and additional services from other suppliers. Of that total, 13.57 million came from the organizers' supply chain and 36.75 million from the chain driven by attendee spending.

The induced impact was 32.84 million euros, 23.54 percent of the total. This third component reflects how wages generated directly and indirectly were spent on goods and services across the economy. The organization accounted for 8.38 million euros of induced impact and attendees for 24.46 million.

The relationship between the three components produced a multiplier of 2.48 euros of total GVA for every euro of direct impact.

Organizers' spending by sector

The organizing bodies spent 31.09 million euros on staging the events. Spending was spread unevenly across categories.

Audiovisual production, lighting and sound took 7.08 million euros, 22.8 percent of total organizing costs. That item covers technical equipment, sound system installation, multimedia production and simultaneous distribution across several venues.

Preparing and fitting out venues required 6.70 million euros, 21.5 percent of spending. It covered work on places of worship, the construction of temporary structures, signage, decoration of public spaces and the reconditioning of circulation areas in the four territories.

Professional services and security came to 6.13 million euros, 19.7 percent, covering consultancy, organizational coordination, risk management and private security alongside the public deployment.

Other costs totaled 3.82 million euros. Machinery rental accounted for 1.67 million euros, 5.4 percent of the total, covering lifting equipment, generators, cooling systems and temporary machinery. Advertising and communications came to 1.36 million euros, furnishings and decoration to 1.19 million euros, and venue rental to 1.07 million euros.

Logistics transport was budgeted at 820,000 euros for moving equipment and supplies between venues. IT and telecommunications required 660,000 euros, covering connectivity systems, digital platforms and remote coordination, and cleaning and waste management came to 590,000 euros.

Attendance: 2.31 million people across four territories

The visit drew 2.31 million people to the main religious events and papal routes between June 6 and 12. The figure includes cumulative attendance at simultaneous or complementary events, counting both single and repeated attendance at different events depending on the territory.

Madrid drew the largest crowds, with 2.02 million cumulative attendees. That figure includes duplicate and cumulative counts across multiple events; the number of unique daily attendees in the capital reached 1.81 million. The largest single event was the Corpus Christi Mass and procession at Cibeles, with 1,100,000 participants, followed by the youth vigil at the Bernabéu stadium with 500,000. The popemobile route on June 8 at the Bernabéu drew 200,000 people, the June 6 route 130,000, and the gathering at the Bernabéu 70,000. The event at the Movistar Arena drew 12,000 participants, the volunteers' event at the IFEMA exhibition center another 12,000, and the meeting at CEDIA 230 people.

Accommodation was arranged for 35,001 pilgrims from outside Madrid in coordinated centers: 16,974 places in public centers, 16,502 in Church centers and 1,525 in private centers. Hotel occupancy in Madrid passed 80 percent during the four days, and searches for accommodation rose 46 percent.

Barcelona recorded 180,000 cumulative attendees and 163,500 unique attendees. The popemobile route past the Sagrada Familia was the most attended event, with 120,000 people, followed by the celebration at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys with 43,500. Complementary events at the cathedral drew 6,000 people and the interior of the Sagrada Familia 9,000. Another 1,500 participants were counted at San Agustín. Hotel occupancy in Barcelona came close to 90 percent during the visit.

Gran Canaria recorded 45,200 cumulative attendees and 41,000 unique attendees. The Estadio de Gran Canaria was the main venue with 41,000 participants, 30,000 inside the stadium itself and 11,000 in adjoining areas and the arena. Santa Ana Cathedral recorded 2,200 participants and Arguineguín 2,000. Hotel occupancy in the Canary Islands stayed between 60 and 70 percent during the visit.

Tenerife recorded 58,513 cumulative attendees, with 35,000 unique attendees. The Mass at the port of Santa Cruz was the main event, drawing 35,000 people. Another 2,000 participants were counted at Plaza Cristo de La Laguna and 200 at Las Raíces. The popemobile routes drew 21,313 people in all, 3,913 in La Laguna and 17,400 in Santa Cruz.

Attendee spending: patterns and sectors

The 2.31 million attendees spent 97.75 million euros, distributed unevenly across categories depending on length of stay and how far people traveled. Retail was the largest beneficiary at 30.52 percent of the total, 29.79 million euros, followed by bars and restaurants at 29.06 percent, 28.41 million euros.

Transport took 22.05 percent of attendee spending, 21.55 million euros, covering air, rail, road and urban travel. Accommodation accounted for 11.84 percent, 11.56 million euros, concentrated among pilgrims from outside the area. Spending on religious activities themselves, such as entry to churches and donations at places of worship, came to 6.53 percent, 6.37 million euros.

Average spending varied by type of visitor. Local attendees spent an average of 38 euros a day, Spanish visitors from elsewhere 95 euros and international visitors 169 euros, a difference that reflects the weight of travel and lodging in total spending.

Madrid accounted for 81.04 million euros of attendee spending, 82.9 percent of the total. Barcelona accounted for 14.31 million euros, 14.6 percent; Gran Canaria for 1.33 million euros, 1.4 percent; and Tenerife for 1.07 million euros, 1.1 percent.

Employment: 3,080 jobs across the economy

The papal visit generated 3,080 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs across direct, indirect and induced impacts. Of these, 1,743 were direct jobs, concentrated in services, hospitality, transport and administrative roles.

Within direct employment, 753 FTE were generated by the organization itself, in coordination, technical, administrative and logistics roles. The 990 FTE of direct employment linked to serving attendees were spread across waiting staff, retail workers, drivers, private security personnel and related services.

Indirect employment came to 898 FTE, generated in supply chains when the companies hired required additional services from other firms. Of those, 221 FTE came from the organizers' supply chain, in production, equipment transport and services, and 677 FTE from the chain driven by attendee spending, including freight transport, retail distribution and wholesale hospitality services.

Induced employment reached 439 FTE, derived from spending by direct and indirect workers in the wider economy. The organization generated 112 induced FTE and attendees 327.

The event generated a total wage bill of 56.29 million euros across the three levels of impact. Each direct job produced a multiplier of 1.77 jobs across the economy as a whole.

The largest employment impact was in Madrid, where hotel occupancy passed 80 percent during the four days of the visit and Metro de Madrid increased frequency by up to 125 percent on certain lines to absorb the additional demand. In Barcelona, hotel occupancy reached close to 90 percent.

Volunteers: 18,225 people and 479,867 hours

The visit also drew 18,225 volunteers, who put in 479,867 hours. That is equivalent to about 276 full-time jobs for a year.

Madrid had the largest volunteer operation, with 14,282 people contributing 409,052 hours, equivalent to 235 full-time jobs for a year. Tasks were divided by stage and type of event. Preparation before the visit took 179,040 volunteer hours, covering logistics coordination, preparing venues, distributing materials and training volunteers. The Corpus Christi Mass and procession at Cibeles took 92,010 volunteer hours during the celebration itself, mainly in access control, information for visitors and crowd flow. The youth vigil required 36,410 volunteer hours in coordination, security support and logistics.

One large part of the volunteer effort in Madrid was welcoming pilgrims in parishes and centers, which took 93,184 hours, with parishioners providing lodging, meals and guidance to visitors staying in community hosting networks. The gathering at the Bernabéu required 3,544 volunteer hours, the Movistar Arena 2,068 hours, IFEMA 1,216 hours, CEDIA 784 hours and the Almudena Cathedral 796 hours.

Barcelona mobilized 998 volunteers contributing 19,578 hours, equivalent to 11.26 full-time jobs for a year. The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys accounted for 10,150 volunteer hours, the information call center 6,048 hours, the press center 1,800 hours, the coordination secretariat 1,404 hours and San Agustín 176 hours.

Gran Canaria had 1,442 volunteers contributing 16,071 hours, equivalent to 9.25 full-time jobs for a year. The Estadio de Gran Canaria accounted for most of that effort with 15,660 hours, alongside 288 hours in Arguineguín and 123 hours at the cathedral.

Tenerife mobilized 1,488 volunteers with 22,266 hours, equivalent to 13 full-time jobs for a year. The hours broke down into 12,876 for general support and coordination, 4,290 for information for attendees, 3,372 for volunteer ministers of Holy Communion and 1,020 for protocol duties, with a further 708 hours in communications.

A separate protocol operation coordinated by the Spanish Bishops' Conference involved 15 volunteers with 12,900 hours between February and June 20, working on event coordination, attending to the pope and managing Church officials.

Public resources: security, transport and health services in Madrid

The visit required coordinated action by numerous public bodies. The events were financed by donations from individuals, companies and partner organizations, with no direct transfers from public authorities to the organizing budgets. Public bodies contributed by deploying security, transport, health and urban services.

Madrid saw an integrated security operation. The National Police deployed 9,700 officers, the Guardia Civil 625 and the Municipal Police 4,000. More than 14,300 personnel were coordinated in a single operation covering access to the celebration sites, traffic control, protection of officials and risk prevention.

Public transport was heavily reinforced. Metro de Madrid increased frequency by up to 125 percent on certain lines during the four days, running 42 additional trains on top of its ordinary service. The system recorded more than 5.6 million trips over the period, concentrated on the lines serving Cibeles, the Bernabéu and other celebration sites. The municipal transport company EMT and intercity bus services added more than 200 extra vehicles, increasing frequencies and extending routes.

Public transport on the EMT network and the BiciMAD bike-sharing system was made free from June 3 to 9.

The health service operation was equally broad. SUMMA 112, the regional emergency medical service, coordinated more than 560 health workers a day, along with more than 40 commanders of special health services to care for the crowds, address the risk of opportunistic infections in large gatherings and handle medical emergencies. Medical posts were set up at the main celebration sites, and access to referral hospitals was coordinated.

Street cleaning was reinforced with additional resources in the areas of greatest concentration, including Cibeles, the Bernabéu and access streets, with maintenance adapted to the extraordinary volumes of waste generated by the crowds.

Public deployment in Barcelona: security, transport and venues

Barcelona also activated a coordinated public operation. More than 7,000 police officers were deployed from the Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional force, and the Guardia Urbana, the city police, with units specializing in protecting officials, crowd control, intelligence and coordination with national security forces.

Public transport was significantly reinforced. The metro strengthened service on lines L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5, with increases of up to 65 percent on L2 and 50 percent on L4, the two lines with direct access to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. Bus, tram and Rodalies commuter rail services were also reinforced in frequency and capacity.

The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, the main venue for the visit in Barcelona, received specialized support in extraordinary cleaning, facilities maintenance, additional private security and event logistics, beyond the use of the municipal venue itself.

Two international press centers were set up in Barcelona, including the Palacio de Congresos 1 at Fira de Barcelona, with 14,000 square meters (151,000 square feet) of space and room for 800 journalists working at once. Sixty journalism students volunteered on logistics for media coverage.

Gran Canaria: public funding and multi-agency coordination

In Gran Canaria, public bodies contributed funding directly. The regional government of the Canary Islands provided 1 million euros and the island council 500,000 euros, for 1.5 million euros in public investment. The city council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria invested in mobility and urban traffic services, with no separate figure given.

The security operation was scaled accordingly. It included 1,465 National Police officers with 141 vehicles, together with Guardia Civil personnel in a joint operation of close to 4,000 in total, a figure that includes about 2,330 from the National Police, the Guardia Civil and Canary Island local police forces.

Urban transport was heavily reinforced. More than 50 public transport vehicles were deployed with 450 municipal and transport company workers to carry 44,000 people to and from the Estadio de Gran Canaria. More than 10,000 parking spaces were made available for attendees arriving from surrounding municipalities.

The regional government of the Canary Islands activated about 300 health workers, along with 100 additional support staff, including logistics personnel and emergency technicians, to handle the medical needs of the crowds.

Tenerife: institutional reinforcement and specialized transport

In Tenerife, more than 200,000 euros in extraordinary municipal spending went to special security services, urban logistics and preparing the celebration sites.

The security operation included 1,310 National Police officers with 134 vehicles, together with Guardia Civil personnel in a joint operation. The deployment was smaller than in the territories with larger crowds.

More than 12,000 additional municipal bus seats were provided through extraordinary service from regular operators. The Tenerife tram ran double units every 10 minutes, giving a capacity of 4,800 passengers an hour to reach the celebration sites.

Public authorities made public spaces available free of charge, including Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna and the port of Santa Cruz as the main celebration sites.

The health operation included 300 health workers and 100 additional support staff, with a field hospital set up at the Recinto Ferial exhibition grounds to handle medical emergencies among the crowds.

Media coverage: 7,300 accredited journalists in three press centers

In Madrid, 2,300 journalists were accredited, 450 of them from more than 30 countries. A 3,600-square-meter (39,000-square-foot) press information center operated 24 hours a day, with room for 200 journalists working at once, equipped with connectivity, recording booths and interview spaces.

In Barcelona, about 2,000 journalists were accredited at the press center in the Palacio de Congresos 1 at Fira de Barcelona, 14,000 square meters (151,000 square feet) with room for 800 journalists working at once, supported by 60 journalism student volunteers handling logistics.

In Gran Canaria, a press information center was set up at the Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola with capacity for 300 to 400 journalists, operating from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, 16 hours a day, with 30 gigabytes of internet bandwidth for live and remote transmission.

Effects on urban infrastructure

The visit also had effects on urban infrastructure and service systems. In Madrid, metro saturation required frequency increases of up to 125 percent on the main lines. Hotel occupancy above 80 percent over four days indicates that lodging capacity was close to saturation.

The same occurred in Barcelona, where hotel occupancy reached close to 90 percent, leaving very limited availability. Accommodation search data in Madrid, up 46 percent, suggests demand was held back by a lack of available supply rather than by a lack of interest in attending.

In the Canary Islands, hotel occupancy of 60 to 70 percent indicates less pressure on lodging infrastructure, though urban transport systems required comparable reinforcement.