The Sagrada Família recovers the normal pulse that it lost during the years 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. The basilica designed by Antoni Gaudí received a total of 3,781,845 visitors from all over the world last year, a figure that is still below that registered in 2019 but triples that of 2021.
The delegated president of the Construction Board, Esteve Camps; the general director, Xavier Martínez, and the director of Communication, Anna Roig, presented today the 2022 report. During the presentation, Esteve Camps highlighted that the Sagrada Família, in its entire history, has only stopped activity twice , during the Spanish Civil War and in March 2020, when the pandemic forced the doors to close and the works to stop.
The recovery in the number of visitors, the main source of income for the Sagrada Família, is a fact. 82.5% of the 3,781,845 people who visited the temple came from abroad. The Americans (13.8%), French (11.2%) and Italians (9.4%) stand out, although the main nationality has been Spanish, with 17.5%.
The number of visitors for 2022 represents approximately 80% of those registered before the pandemic, but they are above the forecasts made by those responsible for the Sagrada Família. Since the construction of the temple began in 1915, it is estimated that 82.8 million people have visited it.
In 2022, two of the four towers of the Evangelists have been completed, and the other two and the tower of Jesus continue to be built. The l'Assumpta chapel is also being built behind the apse of the Basilica and the cloister connecting it to the sacristy on Carrer de Provença, and the restoration of the Nativity façade has begun.
The 2022 financial year ended with revenues of 100.7 million euros. Of these, 53.9 million euros have been allocated to the construction and management of the basilica. The remainder generated is reserved to deal with possible setbacks (such as the pandemic); the construction and work of the coming years and the assumption of the commitments signed in 2018 with the Barcelona City Council. "As you can see, 100% of the income from the Basilica of the Sagrada Família comes from a private source", stated Xavier Martínez.
In addition, a total of 105,018 citizens have been able to enjoy the activities organized in the basilica such as the Days of Portes Obertes, concerts, children's activities, social and student visits and cultural celebrations. And the international masses, the cult celebrations and the visits to the Santíssim chapel have brought together 391,579 people.
Interest in the Sagrada Família is a universal phenomenon that is reflected in its digital presence, with a total of 3,689,217 visits to the website and 410,435 followers on different social networks.
During the next quarter, the Sagrada Família will offer a cultural program that includes a concert by the Orfeón Donostiarra, which will sing for the first time in the basilica on March 26, in an act that will be part of the Easter program, and which will open to citizens through a raffle of tickets.
It will also host the concert of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the most important symphonies in the world. This orchestra celebrates the traditional European Concert every year in an emblematic place in Europe, and this year it will be in the Sagrada Família. It will be on Monday, May 1 at 11 a.m. and there will be a preview, on Sunday, April 30 in the afternoon.
In addition, an exhibition on Gaudí and the Sagrada Família will open in Tokyo on June 13, thanks to NHK, the Japanese broadcasting corporation, and the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art. It will be a traveling exhibition that will stop in two more Japanese cities until March 2024.
