Madrid will host what organisers describe as the largest public march for longevity ever held on 1 October 2026, coinciding with International Longevity Day and the closing day of the International Longevity Summit. Hundreds of scientists, doctors, advocates, entrepreneurs and members of the public are expected to take part, calling for faster progress in tackling age-related diseases and extending healthy human life.
The march will begin at the Royal National Academy of Medicine of Spain and pass through several of Madrid’s most prominent civic landmarks, including Puerta del Sol, the Congress of Deputies and Madrid City Hall. Along the route, participants will publicly read sections of the Madrid Longevity Declaration, which calls for greater investment in research into ageing and for ageing itself to be treated as a medical target.
Madrid was chosen partly because of its unusually high life expectancy. The region has one of the highest recorded life expectancies in Europe, while Spain as a whole is among the longest-lived countries in the EU. Organisers hope to use that position to make Madrid a prominent centre for discussion about the science and policy of longer, healthier lives.
The march forms part of the wider International Longevity Summit, which will bring together researchers, clinicians, entrepreneurs and futurists working across areas such as the biology of ageing, regenerative medicine and biotechnology. Speakers include figures such as Eric Topol, Peter Diamandis, Aubrey de Grey, María Blasco, Guido Kroemer and Michel Poulain.
International Longevity Day was launched in 2013 by the International Longevity Alliance and is now marked by events around the world. Organisers say the Madrid march is intended to bring longevity advocacy out of conference halls and into public life, giving supporters a visible platform to argue for faster scientific progress against the diseases associated with ageing.
"This will be the largest public march for longevity in history," said José Cordeiro, PhD, Chair of the Summit's Organizing Committee. "We are not marching to celebrate old age as it stands today. We are marching to end the diseases that make old age something to dread."
