The festival Primavera Soundwhich this Saturday closes the most mammoth of its editions after 10 days and more than 670 concerts, will continue in Barcelona at least until 2027. This has been confirmed by the co-director of the exhibition, Gabi Ruiz, who, in the traditional balance press conference, has announced that, after a meeting with the mayor Ada Colau, progress has been made in resolving some of the discrepancies that made it difficult for the festival to continue in the city and this will make it possible for next week the contract will be signed that guarantees the holding of the event at the Parc del Fòrum for the next five years.
Ruiz, who in recent months has not been shy about openly criticizing the Colau administration, this time publicly thanked the personal “involvement” of the mayor and the “affection” he has shown to “solve the problems” that threaten the future of Primavera Sound in Barcelona. “It is not an economic issue, we are not asking for money; it is a matter of willRuiz insisted.
A matter of dates
This “issue of wills” is basically summed up in three questions: the claim of ensure that the festival It is celebrated on June dates (and not May, the month in which, according to Ruiz, many international bands are touring the United States); the will of negotiate with a single interlocutor (and not with three, as has been the case up to now: the Barcelona City Council, the Sant Adrià del Besòs City Council and the port authority), and the solution of the conflict that the festival maintains with the municipality of Sant Adriàwhich this year has caused, for example, a forced reduction in the capacity of the so-called Bits area.
The organizers also pointed out that in the future it would be desirable to be able to occupy the Fòrum site earlier (“one more week”, Ruiz said) to prevent a recurrence of the problems in the bars and services that made the opening day of the festival the Thursday June 2, in source of complaints and criticism. “We arrived very tight on time and also we were surprised that so many people came first thing in the morning”, explained the also co-director Alfonso Lanza.
Barcelona’s claim
“Our will is to stay in Barcelona because we are a Barcelona festival and we know that one of the keys to our success is the city of Barcelonawhich is an impressive claim”, said Ruiz, who did not miss an opportunity to also express his gratitude to the community of Madrid for “all the facilities” that it has given so that the Primavera is also celebrated there starting next year (there will be one weekend in each city).
The show’s management assured that this year’s experience, with two weekends at the Parc del Fòrum, will not be repeated. The 20th edition of the festival has resulted in an attendance of almost half a million people (more than 220,000 the first weekend and 240,000 the second) from 139 countries and, as revealed by Alfonso Lanza, it has meant for Barcelona an economic impact of 349 million euros. Figures to brag about. “We are the event with the greatest economic impact in the city after the Mobile World Congress”, proclaimed Lanza.