The patron saint festivals of La Mercè will debut a few new locations this year. Those that will enjoy greater prominence will be a good part of the new pedestrian spaces on Consell de Cent street, the green axis of Eixample, and also the Joan Miró and Estació del Nord parks. Yesterday Barcelona City Council presented its proposals.
The main objective of the operation is to somewhat decongest two of the best-known and most visited settings for these patron saint celebrations, those of the Ciutadella parks and Montjuïc mountain. The first has a lot of works underway and the second is hosting Barça matches this year.
Consell de Cent street, lately so full of controversies, will be the setting for many of the shows in the Mercè Arts de Carrer (MAC) program that traditionally take place in the Ciutadella. Marta Almirall, the person in charge of this part of the party, wanted to detail that the residents of Barcelona will not attend a simple move, that the new location of the party, specifically the section between Comte de Borrell and Rocafort streets, will be one more element of the shows, some of them fixed and many others traveling.
"Here it's not about going with the program in your hand, looking at the clock," Almirall recommended, "but about walking around calmly, letting yourself be surprised by some numbers designed for the whole family."
The other brand new location also arranged to alleviate the pressure on the Ciutadella park will be that of the Estació del Nord park. Almirall herself also indicated that the most scoundrels, hooligans and provocative shows will take place in this corner of the Eixample.
“In the Estació del Nord park we will find the most risky proposals,” Almirall continued. The nights will be very fun, full of laughter. And in the Joan Miró park we will pay special attention to children."
This year's soirée will begin on the afternoon of next Friday the 22nd with the traditional reading of the proclamation, this year by the writer Najat el Hachmi, and soon with the first steps of Olga and Volodymyr, of the two giants that Ukraine gives to Barcelona.
The guest city of the latest edition of the Mercè festivities will be Kiev. The gegants Olga and Volodymyr represent the princes of the capital of this country now in such a complicated situation. The couple will debut at the Toc de Inici and then will walk as a special guest in the Mercè parade, alongside the bestiari and the figures of the city.
Chileans will also be protagonists of these festivities, in order to remember President Salvador Allende fifty years after his assassination. The Cathedral Square will host a tribute to Víctor Jara, the singer-songwriter also murdered by the coup plotters commanded by Pinochet.
In total, a hundred artistic groups will carry out more than 600 performances of very street-oriented shows. This Sunday La Vanguardia will distribute the official program of this Mercè. The budget for this edition of Barcelona's patron saint festivities is 3,100,000 euros, more or less the same as what the City Council spent last year.
Among the novelties, it is also worth highlighting the participation of Sónar, which this year will set the pace of the pyromusical. In addition, the festivities are added to the commemoration of the Picasso Year, in memory of the 50th anniversary of the artist's death, with the parade of the Visca Picasso troupe and with the recreation of the house in Plaza de La Mercè, where the artist lived. for nine years.
The Culture Commissioner of Mayor Jaume Collboni's government, the socialist Xavier Marcè, also explained that the City Council's will is for the revelry to reach most of Barcelona's neighborhoods, and highlighted that new locations will also be hosted in Plaza de Can Fabra. , the Paseo dels Til·lers and the stages on Menéndez y Pelayo street.
The Zona Universitària tables will host the concerts that have been held on Maria Cristina Avenue for a few years, the most popular among teenagers. The municipal executive assures in principle that this move also tries to lighten the access to Montjuïc mountain. In any case, everyone is aware that the atmosphere on the avenue has become tense for some time now.
