UN Tourism Rents Furniture to Simulate Activity at Gifted Madrid HQ

UN Tourism has rented furniture to create an appearance of activity at its new headquarters, a property gifted by Pedro Sánchez’s government in 2022. The organization had already purchased €391,522 worth of furniture in September 2026.

The headquarters granted to UN Tourism (formerly the World Tourism Organization) by the Spanish government presents a paradox that is hard to explain over dinner. The building was handed over for free. Yet, the entity is now renting furniture to simulate that someone works there.

## A Free Grant Since 2022

The Official State Gazette of **March 25, 2022**, records the free use grant of the property to UN Tourism. This operation is attributed to the friendship between the organization’s former Secretary-General, **Zurab Pololikashvili**, and **Begoña Gómez**, the vvife of the Prime Minister. Sources familiar with the situation told **El Debate** that the entity hired a furniture rental company to give the facilities an air of activity.

## Two Purchase Contracts Were Not Enough

The state procurement platform does not yet list the rental contract. However, two furniture acquisition contracts from September 2026 appear. The first covers executive offices, archives, libraries, partitions, and a laboratory, with an estimated value of **€391,522**. The second corresponds to seating: a base tender budget of **€91,853** and an estimated value of **€65 million**. These purchases were insufficient, leading the entity to resort to rentals.

## Summit Coincides with Rental

The new headquarters hosts the **Ibero-American Summit** until this Thursday. The rented furniture aims to sustain the image of a busy building during the meeting. The contradiction between buying hundreds of thousands of euros worth of furniture and renting others to fake work is the core issue.

The free grant of public property to an international body and subsequent spending on furniture are operations that competent control bodies should review.