Madrid to Host the Largest Longevity March in History on International Longevity Day, October 1, 2026

Hundreds of citizens, scientists, doctors and advocates will march from the Royal National Academy of Medicine to the Madrid City Hall to publicly read the Madrid Longevity Declaration, coinciding with the International Longevity Summit 2026

MADRID, Spain — September 2026. On October 1, 2026 — International Longevity Day — Madrid will make history by hosting the largest public demonstration for longevity ever held. Hundreds of citizens, scientists, physicians, patient advocates, entrepreneurs and everyday families will march through the heart of the Spanish capital, wearing t-shirts, waving flags and banners, and carrying balloons emblazoned with the slogan “STOP Envejecimiento” (“STOP Aging”), to demand faster progress against the diseases of old age.

The March will coincide with the closing day of the International Longevity Summit 2026, organized by the International Longevity Alliance (ILA) and hosted for the first time at the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina de España (Royal National Academy of Medicine of Spain, RANME) — one of Spain’s oldest and most prestigious scientific institutions, founded in 1734 by royal decree of King Felipe V, and today presided over as Royal Patron by His Majesty King Felipe VI.

A Day Born From a Global Movement

International Longevity Day was launched in 2013 by the International Longevity Alliance, timed to coincide with the United Nations’ International Day of Older Persons. Since that year, longevity advocates in dozens of countries — from Italy and Germany to Brazil, Pakistan and Canada — have marked October 1 with talks, petitions, meetups and public demonstrations calling for greater investment in research to extend healthy human life.

What began as small local gatherings has grown, year after year, into a global campaign spanning the entire “Longevity Month” of October. This year, Madrid will take that tradition further than it has ever gone: not a meetup, not a lecture hall, but a march through the streets of a capital city, in full public view of residents, tourists, politicians and passersby alike.

The Route: From Science to the Seat of Government

The march will begin at the Royal National Academy of Medicine, in the historic heart of Madrid between the Royal Palace and the Teatro Real. From there, participants will walk to the headquarters of the Presidency of the Community of Madrid at Puerta del Sol — the square that marks Kilometer 0, the symbolic center of Spain — before continuing to the Congress of Deputies, Spain’s parliament, and finishing at Madrid City Hall, the Palacio de Cibeles.

At each of these four landmark stops, marchers will publicly read parts of the Madrid Longevity Declaration aloud — in front of government officials, office workers, shoppers and tourists — carrying the movement’s message directly to the institutions and the public that can help accelerate it.

Why Madrid, Why Now

The choice of Madrid is not symbolic alone — it is backed by data. Madrid is the capital with the longest life expectancy in the European Union, with a current life expectancy at birth reaching 86 years (The accompanying infographic, based on Eurostat’s 2024 NUTS 2 regional map and dataset, shows Madrid’s life expectancy rising from 84.3 years in 2014 to 85.7 years in 2024 — a gain of 1.4 years over a decade).

Spain also holds the record as the most longevous country in the Eurozone, with around 84 years of life expectancy, according to Eurostat. Some of the longest-lived people in recorded history have been Spanish, including María Branyas Morera, who held the title of world’s oldest living person until her death in 2024 at 117 years and 168 days. By several measures, greater Madrid now outperforms the world’s classic “Blue Zones” — Sardinia in Italy, Ikaria in Greece, Okinawa in Japan, Nicoya in Costa Rica and Loma Linda in California, USA.

The Madrid Longevity Declaration will formally lay claim to this position, calling on European institutions, national governments and the medical establishment to treat aging itself as a treatable condition — and to fund the science accordingly.

World-Class Science at the Summit and Madrid Longevity Awards

The march caps two days of the International Longevity Summit, which brings together many of the field’s most prominent scientists and innovators. Among this year’s featured speakers:

• Michel Poulain, PhD — co-creator of the “Blue Zones” concept
• Guido Kroemer, PhD — Professor, Université Paris Cité
• Peter Diamandis, MD — Founder & Executive Chairman, XPRIZE Foundation
• Aubrey de Grey, PhD — Founder, LEV (Longevity Escape Velocity) Foundation
• María Blasco, PhD — Head, Telomeres and Telomerase Group, Spanish CNIO
• Valentín Fuster, MD, PhD — President, Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, NYC
• Eric Topol, MD — Executive Vice President, Scripps Research
• Mike Chan, MD — Group CEO and Co-Founder, European Wellness
• Patrick E. Sewell, MD — CEO, Founder and Chief Scientist, Triple Helix Science
• Daniel Wallerstorfer, PhD — CEO, Novogenia GmbH
• Wei-Wu He, PhD — Chairman and CEO, Human Longevity Inc.
• Ronald Bonilla, DMD — Dentist and longevity innovator

They join dozens of other researchers, physicians, entrepreneurs and policymakers from around the world, in a program hosted this year at the RANME, whose past members include Spain’s two Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine, Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Severo Ochoa.

A distinguished group of prestigious Spanish and international institutions is supporting this historic event, organized by International Longevity Alliance (ILA) at the Royal National Academy of Medicine of Spain (RANME), in collaboration with the Official College of Physicians of Madrid (ICOMEM) and Madrid Innovation. International supporters include European Wellness and Triple Helix Science at the Gold level, as well as Novogenia and Nesa World at the Silver level. The event is also endorsed by leading foundations and organizations, including HealthGevity Nation, Hevolution Foundation, Human Longevity Inc., HumanityPlus, Immortalis, KHL Foundation, Life Extension Foundation, Lifeboat Foundation, Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation, Millennium Project, XPRIZE Foundation, together with innovative companies such as Cenegenics, GERO, and OXANA. This year, the Summit will also welcome a new generation of startups working in healthtech, healthcare innovation and longevity, with the logistical support of CRRATE and StartUp Olé Salamanca.

The Summit will close with the presentation of the Madrid Longevity Awards, recognizing individuals who have advanced the cause of healthy longevity in science, medicine, business and public life. Last year’s honorees included José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid; Mehmood Khan, CEO of the Hevolution Foundation; and leading Spanish figures such as lawyer Antonio Garrigues Walker, economist Ramón Tamames, and physicians Arturo Fernández-Cruz and Pedro Guillén.

“The Beginning, Not the End”

“This will be the largest public march for longevity in history,” said José Cordeiro, PhD, Chair of the Summit’s Organizing Committee. “But it is also just the beginning. Every single day, more than 110,000 people around the world die of age-related diseases — the single greatest cause of human suffering in history, and one that science is now, for the first time, in a position to address. 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.”

Organizers are inviting the public — residents, tourists, families, students and professionals alike — to join the march on October 1, get a free “STOP Envejecimiento” t-shirt, carry a flag, banner or balloon, and stand with the growing global movement for a longer, healthier life for everyone.

About the International Longevity Summit The International Longevity Summit is organized by the International Longevity Alliance and takes place September 30 – October 1, 2026, at the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina de España in Madrid (RANME).

About International Longevity Day The International Longevity Day was established in 2013 by the International Longevity Alliance and is celebrated every October 1 by advocates around the world. Free registration for the March and free t-shirts with “STOP Envejecimiento” logo, banners, flags and balloons: https://www.meetup.com/madridsingularity/events/316335741/

International Longevity Summit 2026

Dates: September 30 – October 1, 2026
UNESCO World Heritage Tours: September 28–29, 2026

Free registration for the Madrid Longevity March
Meeting point: Real Academia Nacional de Medicina de España (RANME)
Organizer: International Longevity Alliance
Information and registration: www.LongevitySummit.Madrid

Videos: Teaser · UNESCO Tours · Full 12-minute Promo

Media kit: Images and Clips

General inquiries: [email protected]

About José Cordeiro

José Cordeiro, PhD

José Cordeiro, PhD, is an engineer from MIT and MBA from INSEAD. He is director of the International Longevity Alliance, vicechair of HumanityPlus, fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science, senior fellow of The Millennium Project, founder of the International Longevity Summit in Madrid, founding faculty of Singularity University in Silicon Valley, former Spanish candidate to the European EurParliament and coauthor of the international bestseller The Death of Death.