Plaza de España (Spain Square) in Seville has been awarded as Treasure of European Film Culture by the European Film Academy, which with this title wishes to raise public awareness for places of a symbolic nature for European cinema, places of historical value that need to be maintained and protected not just now but also for generations to come.

A special “Treasure of European Film Culture” emblem was inaugurated at the location with the presence of Marion Dörin, Director of EFA; Miguel Ángel Vázquez, the Regional Minister for Culture; Carlos Rosado and Piluca Querol President and director of Andalucia Film Commission (which presented the candidature for the location last March).

Originally designed and built as the main symbol for and most ambitious project of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition world’s fair, Plaza de España is one of Seville’s most iconic locations. With its mix of 1920s Art Deco, Neo-Renaissance, and Neo-Mudéjar styles, Plaza de España has served as the set for various films from “Star Wars” to “The Dictator”, and it is forever linked to the history of cinema by its role in David Lean’s epic “Lawrence of Arabia”, where it served as the English army headquarters and officers’ club in Cairo.
Actors who have shot here include Vittorio de Sica, Sean Connery and Peter O’Toole.

Plaza de España is the ninth location to be awarded by the European Film Academy. The other locations are:

The Eisenstein Memorial Centre in Moscow
The House of the brothers Lumière in Lyon
The Bergman Center in Faro
The World of Tonino Guerra in Pennabilli
The Potemkin Stairs in Odessa
The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel
The Sergei Parajanov Museum in Yerevan
The Collegiate Church of Sant Vicenç in Cardona