Taking a photo at the entrance to Seville’s April Fair seems an inseparable part of arriving at the Real year after year, and its entrance gates—the fair’s emblem— have welcomed visitors to these festivities since the second half of the 19th century.
These temporary structures, whose designs are usually decided in the fall, stand as reminders of the city and its history, and some of them have been the subject of controversy and debate.
It is well known that there is no accounting for taste, which is why we have compiled the last 15 entrance gates that have adorned the Seville Fair.
2010
The 2010 entrance gate was designed based on three concepts. First, the centennial of the first military flight from Tablada. Second, the city of Seville as the main element, featuring the NO&DO logo. Finally, the Feria, represented by snails and polka dots.
2011
The “Around the World” gatein Seville featured elements alluding to the first circumnavigation of the globe, which marked its 500th anniversary in 2019. References to the sea, the compass rose, and the ship Victoria.
2012
Another of the Seville April Fair entrance gates that leaves no room for doubt is the one from 2012. It successfully reproduced the Church of El Salvador, which, incidentally, was celebrating its 300th anniversary.
2013
The 2013 one evoked the Plaza de España, just as they did in 1969, 1971, and 1983.
2014
The design of the 2014 fair’s entrance gate was inspired by the water kiosks that spread throughout the city in the late 19th century.
2015
The towers flanking this entrance gate resemble those of the Telefónica building in Plaza Nueva, and the portico, in general, is reminiscent of the Museum of Fine Arts.
2016
Seville, a tribute to dance was the theme of this fair entrance, inspired by the Argentine Pavilion at the 1929 Expo, now the Dance Conservatory.
The 2016 entrance gate also incorporated references to the anniversary of the Parish of Santa Ana and the 400th anniversary of Cervantes’ death.
2017
The 2017 edition, “Sevilla Cultura Universal,” undoubtedly a commemoration of the 1992 Expo, also coincided with the 25th anniversary of that event. Specifically, it evokes the kilns of the old Pickman factory in La Cartuja.
Floral elements and the artist’s signature in smaller type pay homage to the 400th anniversary of Murillo’s birth.
2018
In this case, the entrance to the fair emulated the old pavilion of the Círculo Mercantil e Industrial from 1905, in homage to the organization’s fiftieth anniversary. It also includes references to the bandstand located in Plaza Nueva in 1862 and to the Manuel Noguera building in Plaza de la Campana, designed by Aníbal de González.
2019
Seville, Stage of Art, Culture, and History was the motto under which this entrance gate was built, reminiscent of the architecture of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition and its leading architects, Aníbal González and Vicente Traver.
Both figures served as directors of the exhibition and were the architects of the Seville Pavilion, the Casino de la Exposición, and the Lope de Vega Theater, from which this entrance gate draws particular inspiration.
2022
One of the most unusual entrance gates for the Seville Fair was the one for the year 2022. In light of the pandemic years and the subsequent debates surrounding the event’s celebration in 2021, this gate was actually erected twice.
After being canceled for two consecutive years, in 2022 it was finally able to showcase this design, which recreates the iconic Hotel Alfonso XIII in the regionalist style.
2023
The 2023 entrance gate was inspired by the Plaza de España and the Teatro Coliseo, landmarks of Sevillian regionalism.
2024
Similar in appearance to the 2023 entrance, in 2024 the grand portico leading into the Real was inspired by the Mudéjar Pavilion that houses the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs.
2025
As for the latest of the Seville Fair’s entrance gates, the one for 2025 will replicate the Chile Pavilion, which currently houses the Seville School of Art. A fusion of pre-Columbian and avant-garde Art Deco styles will adorn this structure that welcomes visitors to the fair.
Italian designer Davide Gambini has won again—his design also welcomed visitors to the Real in 2024—with a design that evokes the Portuguese Pavilion from the 1929 World’s Fair, featuring elements of the Carlos V Pavilion at the Real Alcázar.
A design that, in the author’s words, reflects“Seville’s international and modern vocation, as seen in the 1929 Exposition, and thehistorical and poetic memory of a royal weddingthat made this city a leading figure in Europe.”
