Barcelona City Council will finally extend the operation of the Christmas lights by one hour each day this year. In this way, the lights will turn on every day at five-thirty in the afternoon, and from Sunday to Thursday they will turn off at eleven, while on Fridays and Saturdays they will do so at twelve. On Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Three Wise Men they will unplug again at one in the morning.
The government of Mayor Jaume Collboni thus addresses the complaints of many merchants, mainly from the center of the city, who regretted that during these holidays the City Council maintained the time restrictions established last year in order to raise awareness among the population of the evils of the energy crisis. .
The merchants pointed out that this measure was always symbolic, that given the real electricity consumption of these sheds it did not make sense to maintain it for another year, that if Barcelona wants to compete with the great European capitals it cannot afford such anodyne decoration...
In addition, the municipal Economy Commission in October approved a proposal from the PP councilors that urged the City Council to make Barcelona a benchmark for Christmas, basically installing a traditional nativity scene in Plaza Sant Jaume and extending the operation by one hour. of the Christmas lights. The initiative had the support of Vox, BComú, Junts and the PSC itself -ERC abstained.
In any case, the municipal executive clarified in that commission that the City Council was still negotiating with the merchants the final schedule of this ornamentation, that this issue was still to be resolved. A couple of weeks ago, however, the City Council turned on the city lights while maintaining the restrictions of the previous year.
