King Felipe and Queen Letizia presided over the Macael Awards, organised by the Autonomic Province of Andalusia, to reward marble entrepreneurs and artists.
Their Majesties arrived at the Macael Multifunctional Building in Almería, accompanied by many state and local authorities, including the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, the President of the Andalusian Parliament and the Mayor of Almería.
The evening was opened by a cocktail, followed by a sit-down dinner that lasted approximately 45 minutes, according to the media present. For the evening, the Queen chose a blue dress and a pair of earrings that seemed to be a gift from the Emir of Qatar.
The awards ceremony then began with the projection of a video and a speech from the President of the Association of Andalusian Marble Entrepreneurs.
It was then time for the biggest moment of the evening when the laureates were announced, and the King and Queen got on stage to hand out their prizes.
The awards cover ten different categories, including the newly-introduced “Award for Sustainability.” which has been created in this 35th edition of the ceremony to reward those businesses that commit themselves to marble extraction and processing with net zero emission and a close eye on the environmental impact of their practices.
Following the collection of the prizes, King Felipe offered a speech highlighting the role that this industry has within the global economy and population and praised them for the example they are setting all around the world with their practices.
It was undoubtedly a touching evening for Queen Letizia, as this wasn’t her first encounter with these awards; in his speech, King Felipe reminded the public present that, in 2002, then-journalist Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was the one that conducted the ceremony.
The Macael Awards have reached their 35th edition this year. Like previous ceremonies, this one also coincided with the International Stone Meeting, organised for Extenda, the Andalusian Public Enterprise for Foreign Promotion.
They aim at rewarding a “strong push towards innovation, the use of technology, know-how and the work behind commercialisation and the conquest of new markets” through a “marked international stance.” according to the Royal House.
