V Primavera sound, one of the most important festivals in the international music scene, is considering leaving Barcelona. The 2022 release will take place, but will most likely be the last. The organizers condemn the invalidity of the city council. Ada Colau and that they also multiplied by 17 the rent for the area where most of the events take place – Forum Park.
One of the co-directors of the festival, Gaby ruiz, assured in statements to Vanguardthat the city council has shown no interest in hosting the event in 2023 and that it has received notifications not to conclude any action this year. Ruiz also notes that “there comes a time when we We have already opened an office in Madrid, and I personally intend to live there.and I’m going to move the office forward because there are so many more possibilities now, not only on the musical level, but also on the audiovisual level in general. Because here we lose everything, the whole music industry, film and in the end we have to live. Not because there are no people in Barcelona who want to pull the car, but because in this city all the problems are now. And they think more about voting and voting forecast, and when the government is formed, they already think about elections here for four years, and this causes complete inaction, and that we do not have a city project. “
Governmental support
According to the organizers of the festival, the mayor of Colau accepts their proposals, but this is only an appearance. Alfonso Lanza, also director of the festival, notes that “the mayor was impressed by the social performance model, but the city council showed no interest at other levels.” Lanza says that the position of the municipalities differs from that of the government, which Iceta he was very receptive and that Primavera is included in the general government budgets “as an event of exceptional public interest, which basically recognizes the entire plan and program, including our double dating format in Barcelona, our international expansion with our digital media and the transformation of Primavera Pro into a kind of Mobile World music congress in Barcelona. What interested them especially and what surprised us a lot was that Spring Proand that it was featured in the Los Angeles edition of Primavera to promote Spanish culture. And if this performance was first heard in Madrid, then in Barcelona they saw how it happened, but still have not caught it. I said they showed no interest. “
Thus, the organizers are looking for other cities in Spain to reschedule the festival, which, they explain, does not require subsidies or preferential treatment. If confirmed, this refusal would be another “achievement” of the Colau administration, whose leadership is curtailing not only economic but also cultural activities.
Deputy Mayor of Barcelona for Culture, Socialist. Jordi Marty, was taken aback by the statements of the festival organizers and responded via Twitter: “This is a festival closely related to Barcelona and we want it to last for so many years. Primavera Sound and Barcelona are a success story. “
Surprise from the interview. S’està preparant excellent @Spring_Sound pel 2022 and I’m still talking about issue 23. This is a huge lligat festival for Bcn and I’m going to continue to follow the així anys molts. Primavera Sound i Bcn is a success story. https://t.co/JgrHDp06Yf
– Jordi Marty Grau (@JordiMartiGrau) December 16, 2021