- Las Arenas Shopping Centre will host an exhibition organised by the Sports Museum in November, featuring 200 items linked to some of the greatest milestones in sporting history.
- The Canary Islands Physical Activity and Sport Fair will hold its third edition from 12 to 15 November, with an extensive programme of activities, exhibitions and competitions.
The Canary Islands Physical Activity and Sport Fair continues to expand its programme ahead of its third edition, which will take place from 12 to 15 November at Plaza de la Música in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. ExpoDeca will once again become a major hub for practising and enjoying physical activity, with activities open to the public, exhibitions and competitions. This will be complemented by an extensive exhibition area featuring brands, products and services related to the sector, as well as a high-quality programme of talks at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium.
But the fair has even more to offer. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the Legends of Sport exhibition at Las Arenas Shopping Centre, an initiative promoted in Spain by the Sports Museum Association. The exhibition features a collection of around 200 items that tell the story of some of the greatest achievements and the evolution of national and international sport. It will be open to the public during the shopping centre’s regular opening hours, with free admission, throughout ExpoDeca week. In addition, the same venue will host an exhibition of classic rally cars, in collaboration with the Gran Canaria Automobile Museum.
ExpoDeca 2026 is promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Department of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sport, and organised by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, through Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria. Las Arenas Shopping Centre, Fundación Disa, Provital, Binter, Tirma, Ybarra and Citroën are sponsors of the event, which will have free admission. The latest information about the fair is available at www.expodeca.es.
Legends of Sport, at Las Arenas Shopping Centre in November
The exhibition brings together around 200 objects directly linked to major episodes in the history of Spanish sport. In doing so, it becomes a genuine account of the growth of national teams and athletes and their evolution on the global stage over the years.
Three Olympic torches that have visited Spain throughout its history hold a particularly symbolic place in the exhibition. It is worth recalling that the Olympic flame has already travelled through the Canary Islands and the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria itself, in 1968 and 1992, on the occasion of the Mexico 1968 and Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
The exhibition also features authentic icons of Spanish success in world sport, including the Banesto team jersey worn by Miguel Induráin during the Tour de France, where he achieved five victories. It also includes sports equipment used by brothers Pau and Marc Gasol during their NBA careers, both of whom won the competition: Pau twice with the Los Angeles Lakers and Marc with the Toronto Raptors.
Football, as the world’s most popular sport, has a particularly prominent place in the exhibition, including the boots and ball that Andrés Iniesta used when he scored Spain’s winning goal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Also on display is the commemorative shirt marking Spain’s historic 12–1 victory over Malta in 1983, a result that secured the team’s subsequent qualification for UEFA Euro 1984 in France, where Spain finished runners-up. Women’s football is represented by items belonging to Vero Boquete, former captain of the Spanish national team and the first Spanish woman to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Top-class motorsport
Equipment used by Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso occupies a prominent place in this exhibition, which devotes a substantial section to motorsport. It also includes tools and equipment that belonged to Carlos Sainz, Marc Gené, Toni Bou and the great Ángel Nieto.
A particular highlight is the 125cc Aprilia ridden by Jorge Martínez Aspar, a two-time world champion in 1988. It was the motorcycle on which the rider from Alzira made his mark in championship history.
Tennis, golf and athletics
Two sports that have brought great success to Spain are tennis and golf, both of which have a strong presence in the exhibition. Visitors will be able to see original equipment belonging to Rafa Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Manolo Santana, three of the sport’s greatest stars. Another standout section features equipment belonging to badminton champion Carolina Marín.
Golf is also particularly well represented, with the Green Jackets of José María Olazábal and Sergio García, Jon Rahm’s putter and the Ryder Cup polo shirt belonging to Seve Ballesteros. The exhibition also includes equipment from some of Spain’s greatest athletes, including Ruth Beitia, Sandra Myers, Jesús García Bragado, Fermín Cacho, Javier Moracho and María Pérez.
International stars
Legends of Sport is not limited to Spanish sport, however. The exhibition also features items belonging to some of the greatest football stars in the world, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. It also displays jerseys, trainers and other signed items from NBA legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Stephen Curry, Magic Johnson and Kevin Durant, all genuine global sporting icons.
The sporting equipment of tennis legends Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer is also on display, alongside the genuine Ferrari SH70 Formula 1 car driven by Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen in 2017. The exhibition also features equipment used by Italian motorcycle racing legend Valentino Rossi, one of the most recognisable stars in the history of the sport.
Immortals of world sport
When it comes to legends of sporting history, few have achieved the global stature of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who occupies a prominent place in the exhibition. On display will be the running shoes he wore to win gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where he triumphed in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4×100-metre relay.
The exhibition will also offer a significant educational component, showing the actual dimensions of the world records in the high jump and long jump, together with the original shoes worn by their record holders: American Mike Powell and Cuban Javier Sotomayor.
The athletics section of the collection also features the shirt worn by Eliud Kipchoge when he broke the marathon world record in Berlin in 2022.
Star guides
The Legends of Sport exhibition is complemented by a large collection of photographic and audiovisual material. Visitors will also have access to audio guides via QR code, in which some of Spain’s most renowned sports journalists, including José María García, María Escario, José Ramón de la Morena, Paloma del Río and Antonio Lobato, share first-hand accounts and provide commentary on different elements of the exhibition.
The Sports Museum
The Sports Museum Association is a private cultural and educational initiative supported by various public institutions, as well as prominent Spanish organisations and athletes. Its Legends of Sport exhibition has travelled to different cities across Spain and to several countries in recent months.
This time, it arrives in the Canary Islands as part of ExpoDeca 2026, adding an extra attraction to the programme organised by the fair.
