"No hay mal que por bien no venga."
There is no evil from which good does not come — every cloud has a silver lining.
Friday dawns over a city in full spring bloom, and the literary soul of Madrid stirs awake. Today the 85th Feria del Libro opens its casetas in El Retiro Park, turning the Paseo de Coches into a river of books, authors, and readers — this year with humour as its guiding theme. Meanwhile, the AI in Health Conference wraps up at IFEMA with OECD delegates, DocumentaMadrid screens its final documentaries, and the city's housing debate continues to echo through the streets. May is drawing to a close, but Madrid's pulse beats stronger than ever.
The 85th edition of the Madrid Book Fair opens today in El Retiro Park, running through 14 June. More than 350 casetas from publishers, booksellers, and distributors line the Paseo de Coches, and this year's programme places humour at centre stage — celebrating laughter as a form of refuge, critique, and storytelling. Organisers expect strong turnout despite warm temperatures, with signing sessions, debates, and readings scheduled daily from 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 21:00. The fair, first held in 1933 on Paseo de Recoletos, has been a staple of Madrid's cultural calendar for nearly a century.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Madrid this week under the banner 'La vivienda nos cuesta la vida', demanding urgent government action to address soaring rents and property prices. Organised by the Madrid Tenants' Union with backing from UGT and CCOO, the demonstrations reflect growing frustration among young people and families who find themselves priced out of the capital. A proposed decree to extend temporary rent freezes recently failed in parliament, deepening concerns that political paralysis is worsening the housing emergency. Similar protests have also erupted in Barcelona, Málaga, and the Balearic Islands as Spain's tourism-driven economy reshapes the housing landscape.
Madrid hosts the AI in Health Conference with the OECD on 28–29 May, bringing together policymakers, technologists, and health professionals to explore the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The conference, held at IFEMA, addresses governance frameworks, ethical oversight, and practical deployment of AI tools in clinical settings. Speakers underscored the need for robust regulatory guardrails as AI begins to take on diagnostic, administrative, and even interventional roles in medicine. Spain has positioned itself as a European leader in health-data infrastructure, making Madrid a natural venue for this high-level dialogue.
The Winemad wine fair wraps up today at IFEMA Madrid after three days of tastings, masterclasses, and business networking. The 2026 edition brought together more than 400 wineries from across Spain, with special emphasis on Madrid's own D.O. Vinos de Madrid appellation, which has gained international recognition in recent years for its高品质 (high-quality) reds from the San Martín de Valdeiglesias sub-region. The fair, now in its seventh edition, has become a key date for sommeliers, distributors, and wine enthusiasts in the capital.