2024 has been a very emotional year for Telefónica, having celebrated its Centenary.
A year full of events and unforgettable moments with which we wanted to commemorate this date thinking about the next 100 years, also paying tribute to the hundreds of thousands of people who have built the company in this century of life.
Concerts in temples of music such as the Liceu in Barcelona or the Teatro Real in Madrid, a multitudinous music festival, events in Distrito Telefónica, institutional acts, the last stage of La Vuelta 2024 or even the creation of the company’s new sound identity are some of the memories that this year will leave in our minds.
Let’s review some of these milestones, some of which will last forever as part of the legacy that the operator will leave behind as it celebrates its first hundred years of life.
From 19 April 1924 to 19 April 2024, a day of celebration
In a year full of celebrations, the most important day was, unsurprisingly, 19 April, the day of the birthday.
Centenary Gala in the evening
That evening the Centennial Gala was held at the Teatro Real, an event presided over by His Majesty the King – among many other authorities such as the President of the Congress of Deputies – in which the musical repertoire was varied and featured artists as diverse as Lang Lang, María Dueñas, Juan Diego Flórez and Sara Baras.
A show that was completed with forty drones flying over the stage while the Orchestra of the Reina Sofía School of Music performed ‘The Flight of the Blowfly’ by Rimsky-Korsakov with the unprecedented arrangement of the musicians placed vertically on a scaffolding.
H.M. Felipe VI had previously collaborated with the centenary celebrations by reliving with José María Álvarez-Pallete, President of the company, the historic moment when his great-grandfather Don Alfonso XIII visited the roof of the Gran Vía building at the end of the 1920s.
Ringing of the bell at the Madrid Stock Exchange in the morning
The birthday evening had begun in the morning with Álvarez-Pallete also taking centre stage as he was in charge of ringing the bell as Telefónica held the title of Guest of Honour at the Madrid Stock Exchange on that day.
Music for history
Music has played a fundamental role throughout the commemorations of Telefónica’s 100th anniversary. If the birthday itself closed with an event at the Teatro Real, another musical evening – in this case at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona – was the opening act of the company’s centenary.
Also starring the famous Chinese pianist Lang Lang and performing classical pieces accompanied by drones and holograms connected by 5G technology, the staging of the event dazzled the more than 1,200 guests on a day that coincided with the MWC.
Telefónica 100 Live
With very different musical styles, and in an equally different venue, on 18 May the Santiago Bernabéu stadium hosted the historic Telefónica 100 Live concert.
The more than 50,000 people who attended enjoyed Alejandro Sanz, Hombres G and Ana Mena as headliners accompanied by guest artists such as Delaporte, Taburete and 84.
A day of solidarity that helped some twenty charitable organisations receive 50,000 euros, NGOs that have been collaborating with Fundación Telefónica for some time.
Lucas Vidal composes Telefónica’s new sound identity
The internationally renowned composer Lucas Vidal, winner of two Goya awards and an Emmy, was in charge of composing Telefónica’s new sound identity.
This musical composition, called Suite Telefónica, was recorded at the emblematic Abby Road Studios in London and for Álvarez-Pallete ‘captures the soul and purpose of the company and gives it a sound of its own, (…). It captures the legacy accumulated in our 100 years of history and at the same time projects us towards the future we aspire to, in which it will accompany us from now on’.
We invite you to enjoy it:
Events in the Telefónica District to commemorate the Centenary
The Telefónica District has hosted numerous events to commemorate the Centenary celebrations.
These included open days on the weekend of Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April, two days in which company employees, families and friends were able to enjoy a wide range of leisure, technological and gastronomic activities.
Two months later, Telefónica Fest brought together technology, live music, training and events related to the world of television in a host of outdoor activities enjoyed by all those who attended, both those linked to the company and outsiders.
In September, cycling enthusiasts were also able to enjoy an exciting final stage of La Vuelta 2024 between Distrito and Gran Vía, with the finish in front of the company’s building. This individual time trial crowned Primoz Roglic as the winner, accompanied on the podium by Ben O’Connor and Enric Mas, Movistar Team rider.
Institutional and international events
It was not only the Madrid stock exchange that played a leading role in Telefónica’s Centenary. Also the New York Stock Exchange.
Specifically, on 12 June, José María Álvarez-Pallete was the ‘bell ringer’ at the close of trading on the NYSE. A place where Telefónica had already been a pioneer by becoming the first Spanish company to be listed on Wall Street, the world’s largest stock market.
The commemorative events for the company’s 100th anniversary were held in Brazil, having previously passed through Brussels and Berlin.
Recognition of the team
Another indelible image that this year will leave behind are the emotional tributes to the centenary employees, a way of recognising the path traced in the past until reaching the present, a moment in which we are writing what the future will be like.
It would have been quite a coincidence if, in addition to being centenarians, they had also been born on 19 April.
The tallest Lego replica in Spain, a sculpture by Jaume Plensa and the Movistar Space: new features in the Telefónica District and in the Gran Vía building
In addition to the countless events that took place in Distrito Telefónica and which we have mentioned above, the operator’s headquarters also played a leading role in the Centenary with new elements in its facilities.
The first gift for the Centenary was a Lego replica of the Gran Vía 28 building, 1:50 scale and reproduced in detail. 264,820 LEGO® elements were needed to build this unique piece by hand after almost 400 hours.
At 382 kilos and measuring 2 x 2 x 2.70 metres, the Telefónica District is home to one of the largest LEGO® constructions in the world and the tallest replica in Spain.
Shortly afterwards, the landscape of the headquarters changed when the sculpture Iris, by the sculptor Jaume Plensa, was unveiled. A work that, in the words of José María Álvarez-Pallete, ‘is not only a work of art’ but ‘a symbol of the power of communication and human connection’; in short, a sculpture that ‘reminds us of the importance of human relationships and the beauty that emanates from them’.
But it is not only the Telefónica District that has changed for the Centenary, but also the iconic building on Madrid’s Gran Vía. Inside is the new Espacio Movistar, the ‘kilometre zero’ of innovation, technology and entertainment in facilities that recognise the history of the company and its immense architectural heritage, having recovered the original lamp, the clock in the atrium and the pinnacles of the railings.
Here’s to the next 100 years!
