The exhibition is the 16th edition of the shopping center’s annual floral event, presented this year as World of Flowers 2026 under the slogan “When love unites, peace blossoms.” It runs alongside the Feria de las Flores (Festival of the Flowers), the city’s flower festival held across July and August, and draws on the region’s silletero (flower-bearer) tradition of carrying flower arrangements on wooden back-frames.

Each edition is organized around a theme, and the 2026 centerpiece is peace. “The floral dove symbolizes the peace we long for throughout the world. With it, we want to convey a message of empathy and hope at a time when the world is facing so many conflicts,” María Fernanda Bertel, general manager of Centro Comercial Santa Fé Medellín, told the Spanish news agency EFE.

“The floral dove symbolizes the peace we long for throughout the world.” — María Fernanda Bertel, general manager, Centro Comercial Santa Fé Medellín

For 46 days, the 1,000-square-meter plaza holds a floral carpet of 27,000 plants carrying more than 220,000 flowers grown in eastern Antioquia. The arrangement combines petunias in fuchsia, purple, white, and red with marigolds ranging from orange to yellow.

“The species we have chosen adapt well to our square and to our infrastructure, which features retractable roofs that open in the morning and afternoon, providing the lighting conditions these flowers require,” Bertel said.

The dove is built on a metal frame and covered with white leaves made from biodegradable materials designed to resemble flowers, attached one by one to a sculpture measuring 10.5 meters high and 16.8 meters wide. According to Bertel, more than 200 people worked on World of Flowers 2026, from initial design through installation, and a team of eight gardeners maintains the display, monitoring watering and condition throughout the run.

The shopping center staged its first flower carpet in 2011. In 2025 the initiative marked its 15th anniversary and drew 3.1 million visitors to installations placed throughout the property, with a hot-air balloon as that year’s main attraction.

Cenco Malls (BCS: CENCOMALLS), the shopping center arm of Chilean retail conglomerate Cencosud (NYSE: CNCO, BCS: CENCOSUD), has closed the acquisition of a 51% indirect stake in Plaza Central, one of Bogotá’s largest shopping centers, for $125 million USD. The transaction was completed June 3, 2026, following the fulfillment of all conditions established in the agreement between Cenco Malls’ Colombian subsidiary, Cencosud Col Shopping S.A.S., and Patrimonio Autónomo Estrategias Inmobiliarias (BVC: PEI), Colombia’s largest real estate investment vehicle, which retains a 49% stake in the asset.

Plaza Central, inaugurated in October 2016, is located in the Puente Aranda district of Bogotá, at the intersection of three major arterial roads — Avenida de Las Américas, Calle 13, and Avenida 68 — with direct access to mass transit. The mall serves a predominantly middle-income residential and commercial catchment area, within one of the city’s most active business corridors.

“We expect this acquisition to have a favorable effect on the consolidated results of the company, incorporating a relevant asset for the region into our portfolio.” — Sebastián Bellocchio, CEO, Cenco Malls

According to figures reported at year-end 2025, Plaza Central has 204,832 square meters of total built area and 76,520 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA), with occupancy of approximately 95%. The property generated revenues of 79,098 million COP in 2025. The mall holds LEED certification in both Design and Construction and Operations and Maintenance, and has approximately 1,000 solar panels installed.

“We expect this acquisition to have a favorable effect on the consolidated results of the company, incorporating a relevant asset for the region into our portfolio and strengthening the experience we offer visitors to this shopping center,” said Sebastián Bellocchio, CEO of Cenco Malls.

The deal adds a significant Colombian asset to Cenco Malls’ regional portfolio, which currently comprises 41 shopping centers and 1,450,560 square meters of GLA across Chile, Peru, and Colombia. The company was listed on the Santiago Stock Exchange in June 2019 in what was at the time the largest initial public offering in the Chilean market.

PEI, which will continue as a 49% partner in Plaza Central, is Colombia’s largest real estate investment vehicle, with stakes in more than 150 income-generating assets across more than 30 cities. Its equity securities trade on the Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia) under the ticker PEI.

Headline Photo: Plaza Central in Bogotá (courtesy Cenco Malls)