The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and other city government representatives accompanied a group of 24 TibiClub members at the opening of Tibidabo’s star attraction this season

Merlí lifts visitors 500 metres above sea level so they can enjoy some of the best views of Barcelona before experiencing free fall

This year, in addition to this major new ride, Parc d’Atraccions del Tibidabo also has other new attractions, cementing its place as a leisure area that has something for visitors of all ages

From today, Tibidabo has a new star attraction. On Saturday, the Park opened the Merlí Drop Tower, this season’s eagerly awaited new ride, which is sure to become one of Tibidabo’s star attractions. A group of 24 TibiClub members accompanied Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni and other city government representatives as they became the first people to be raised 500 metres above sea level and enjoy the best views of Barcelona for a few seconds, before experiencing free fall. 

Merlí is 52 metres tall, and its design is inspired by a magic wand. During its ascent, the ride stops and turns, giving visitors a 360º view of Barcelona, before finishing its climb and then entering free fall. 

Merlí is Tibidabo’s main new attraction this 2024 season, during which the park hopes to exceed 700,000 visitors and 22,500 Tibiclub member households. 

Mayor Jaume Collboni stated that he was “absolutely thrilled” and that the new attraction’s views and free fall were truly impressive. He also noted that this is a new feature in a 125-year-old park, a leading family leisure venue that “strives to create new attractions for all families” and for everyone who is staying in Barcelona during the summer. “We’re working to keep offering new attractions”, he said. 

The highlight of a year of new attractions

The opening of Merlí is one of Tibidabo’s major accomplishments in 2024. By mid-July, nearly 300,000 people had already visited the amusement park, a figure which is similar to 2023. 

In addition to the new drop tower, Tibidabo is also presenting many other new features, aimed at all types of audiences. The amusement park kicked off its 2023 season by opening Espai 666, a new horror experience where visitors have the chance to meet the best-known characters from Hotel 666 and take photos with them. 

The educational projects for children include Lego Education’s new CreaTibi, in collaboration with Abacus Educació, which promotes careers in science among children. 

The Park has also introduced new features for its summer season. In addition to new shows, such as the puppet show ‘Marionetes amb Samfaina’ at the Marionetarium, and the screening of new 4D films at the Dididado cinema, the Laser Show will also be back this August. This is a night-time experience that closes out Tibidabo’s summer nights, combining lights, colours and music, with Barcelona as a backdrop. 

Tibidabo has also improved the visitor experience with the upcoming opening of two new food hubs, located at the Panoramic Area, under the Avió, and next to Espai 666. 

More than an amusement park

In addition to its offer of leisure activities, Tibidabo is also striving to become more than an amusement park, with projects that strengthen its commitment to sustainability, good causes and education. 

In terms of the environment, the Glow Worm, now the main form of transport for reaching the top of Tibidabo, with a total of over 900,000 journeys a year, has become a leading international example of sustainable collective mobility. Furthermore, in 2023 the park was awarded the Biosphere Certificate, which recognises its commitment to fostering a responsible, sustainable tourism model that cares for the environment and the social return on its activities. 

It contributes to good causes through various projects, including its initiatives with Unicef to support children’s rights around the world and its twenty-some annual awareness-raising events in collaboration with organisations such as Aprenem Autisme, Educo and Fanoc, among others. 

As for its educational programme, Tibidabo’s annual schedule includes key events, such as Fisidabo, held in collaboration with the UPC, to promote scientific and technical careers at all educational levels. It has also recently announced a partnership with the Sant Pau Research Institute to promote research with a gender perspective and raises awareness about the important role of women in science. 

The new Port Olímpic is open to the neighbourhood, the city and the beach, with extensive areas for walking, relaxing and playing sport. 

It will be home to over 50 blue-economy businesses closely linked to sailing, innovation and sustainability, creating over 150 jobs. 

It will also be a leading centre for sustainable sailing activities that are available to everyone, especially children, through the new Municipal Sailing Centre, which will serve over 15,000 children every year  

The Culinary Balcony is a walkway with wonderful views of the Mediterranean, where visitors can enjoy a varied offer of high-quality Barcelona food. Most of the restaurant owners are currently putting the finishing touches to their premises, which will open gradually from the end of August to the end of September

The new Port Olímpic is the result of a transformative project marked by wide-ranging agreements between authorities (the Spanish and Catalan governments and the City Council), public-private collaboration and a record completion time, between April 2020 and August 2024

The new Port Olímpic is now here. From this Sunday, Barcelona residents can now once again enjoy over 20,000 m² of public space. To celebrate this new era, Port Olímpic held an all-day opening festival, filling the Moll de Mestral quay with music, shows, workshops and children’s games. 

One of the cornerstones of the project has been turning Port Olímpic into a place that local residents can enjoy, with new viewpoints, relaxation areas and green areas which, along with the three new entrances, redefine this new Port Olímpic, in the heart of Barcelona’s seashore, as a completely permeable port open to the Olympic Village and the beach. 

Today sees the opening of the new entrance that will link the Culinary Balcony and Nova Icària Beach. And for the first time, local residents will also be able to explore the Dic de Recer walkway/viewpoint, which will be completely accessible by the end of August, once the restaurants are open.  

The Moll de Mestral quay, which was once full of terraces and nightclubs, is now a large square measuring over 8,000 m², the equivalent of three Eixample city blocks. It has become a place for high-quality economic activity with blue-economy businesses, while the new garden area and wooden pergola also make it a new Barcelona seashore promenade, as well as a climate shelter. From now on, it will be a vibrant, dynamic place with scheduled activities for city residents. 

Today’s festivities are in fact just a taste of the programme Port Olímpic will be offering city residents throughout the year, starting with the first youth and women’s regattas in the America’s Cup and the events that will be taking place as part of the La Mercè festivities. Through these new activities, Port Olímpic aims to become a new neighbourhood and city venue where Barcelona residents can have fun. 

Promoting and revitalising the blue economy

The more than 50 blue-economy companies that will set up shop in the port, providing regular employment for over 150 people, are among the keys to turning Port Olímpic into a place for city residents. 

Over half of these companies, especially those in the sectors of nautical services and activities, innovation, technology and the circular economy applied to the sea, have already opened or will do so in coming weeks.

Sailing for Barcelona residents

Port Olímpic also seeks to make sport in the Mediterranean Sea accessible to all Barcelona residents by offering nautical activities for the general public. In order to make this possible, the project has been working in numerous areas, such as pricing policies, the use of small, sustainable vessels, an extensive offer of vessels for hire, and especially the comprehensive renovation of the Municipal Sailing Centre, which will be completed in coming weeks, with the aim of expanding the services and activities it offers.  

This new era has a clear goal: to continue offering nautical sports to local residents, especially young people, reconnecting Barcelona with the Mediterranean through sport. 

In recent years, Port Olímpic has also upgraded its maritime infrastructure. The most relevant example is the Dic de Recer sea wall, reinforced and consolidated in order to protect the Port’s facilities from wave surges caused by storms. 

In this new era, Port Olímpic also aims to focus on holding regattas and sea education events, ideally involving members of the nautical community who work in the Port’s facilities. 

Furthermore, it aims to be a driving force for innovation and sustainable sailing. That’s why during the summer months, the installation of two ultra-fast charging points for electric vessels will be completed. 

The Culinary Balcony: an experience for all your senses 

The Culinary Balcony is one of Port Olímpic’s main new features. Here you can enjoy a wide variety of high-quality Barcelona cuisine for all occasions and budgets. 

Each of the 11 restaurants and three eateries making up this new Barcelona food area have a different identity and culinary offer, but together, they form a place where you can enjoy the best cuisine, with marvellous new views over the Mediterranean. Various squares and viewpoints, equipped with steps and lifts, enhance the dialogue between the Port’s interior and the seashore, while also inviting people to go for a stroll. 

The Culinary Balcony will be ready at the end of August, with the gradual opening of the nine restaurants and three eateries that make up this first phase of activity. City residents will discover a new food model that embraces quality, diversity and complementary culinary approaches, with the aim of serving a wide-ranging, diverse public. The new restaurants will also emphasise design, with innovative interiors designed to fit in with their surroundings and accentuate the Port’s relationship with the sea.  

The following restaurants are part of the Culinary Balcony:

• Sagardi (World cuisine - innovation)
• El Tribut (World cuisine)
• El del Mar - Hermanos Torres (World cuisine)
• El Cangrejo Loco (Blue cuisine)
• Superlocal (Flexitarian cuisine)
• Vraba (Catalan cuisine - fusion)
• Família Nuri (Seafood cuisine)
• Platets (Appetisers)
• Casa Carmen (Cafeteria)

The three eateries completing the Balcony are: 

• Faborit (Healthy food)
• Esferic (Ice cream)
• Las Muns (Empanada patties)

Port Olímpic, a leader in sustainability

The sea is one of the most important ecosystems in the fight against climate change and the necessary work to reverse its effects. 

As such Barcelona’s Port Olímpic, through its transformation, aims to lead the way in this area, placing sustainability at the centre of all its initiatives, with the aim of creating a cutting-edge venue that not only takes into account the effects of climate change, but has in fact adapted the entire transformation to this reality, from the project’s design and materials to its operations, with a commitment to promoting the generation of green energy, water saving, waste reduction and the renaturalisation of the surrounding seashore.

The sustainable projects carried out include the installation of the Culinary Balcony’s four photovoltaic pergolas, which make up Barcelona’s largest urban photovoltaic system, with a total surface area of 3,560 m², and which will generate up to 825,000 kWh/any, equivalent to the average consumption of 360 dwellings. This covers Port Olímpic’s self-consumption energy needs as well as supplying other BSM facilities (7 car parks, the Poblenou Cemetery and Zoo de Barcelona). This infrastructure will be at the heart of Barcelona’s first and largest shared, zero-kilometre self-consumption community. 

Port Olímpic has also focused on caring for marine ecosystems, with many other projects and initiatives. The most significant is the creation of a bio-regeneration reef that fosters biodiversity on the surrounding seabed and improves water quality. This has been achieved thanks to the partial naturalisation of the 2,000 concrete blocks that protect the Dic de Recer breakwater. These blocks were specially treated so that zooplankton would attach to them, thereby regenerating the seabed. To support this first initiative, 50 underwater biotopes, structures specially designed to attract marine flora and fauna, have also been submerged. The results of these initiatives are already visible, and in coming months cameras will be installed so that people on land can enjoy watching the reefs in real time.

Another measure implemented to make Port Olímpic a leader in green management is the use of seawater to cool the air-conditioning systems of blue-economy establishments on Moll de Mestral quay, thus eliminating the heat-island effect produced by conventional cooling systems, fostering circularity in the consumption of materials and improving insulation in all the new constructions.

And in order to strengthen its commitment to sustainable sailing, Port Olímpic will have two ultra-fast chargers for electric vessels, which will run on energy sourced from the photovoltaic pergolas. With this initiative, Port Olímpic will be the first port facility in Spain with an ultra-fast charging service using green energy produced by and stored at the Port itself. 

Wide-ranging agreements and public-private collaboration

The project began in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, and was scheduled for completion by 2027. However, in 2022 the decision was made to accelerate the process, in light of the city hosting the America’s Cup, and so it has been finished in 4 years. 

This would not have been possible without the agreements reached between the three authorities (Ajuntament de Barcelona, the Catalan government and the Spanish government), or without major public-private partnerships, given that the managing company is BSM (owned by Ajuntament de Barcelona) and over 50 companies from the blue-economy and restaurant sectors have decided to join the project.    
 

The next generation of car parks is embracing new sustainable mobility solutions and an approach to space design that offers an easier, safer and more convenient customer experience

BSM’s Litoral Port car park is reopening with a new look and new spaces specifically for services such as Endolla Barcelona, Bicipark and parcel collection 

New LED lighting will contribute to a friendlier and more sustainable car park, where all parking spots are monitored 

BSM’s new car park model will gradually be deployed throughout the network 

Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) is presenting its new car park model with the reopening of Litoral Port. This car park, with an entrance and exit on Avinguda del Litoral by the Port Olímpic, is the first to feature the new look of the Aparcaments B:SM network, the largest in Barcelona with 43 car parks throughout the city’s neighbourhoods. 

The renovation of the Litoral Port car park, with a surface area of more than 5,600 m², has made it possible to provide spaces for services that go beyond vehicle parking and address city residents’ new habits and needs. These new services are provided in addition to 183 parking spots for cars and 14 for motorcycles, spread across two floors. 

The project, which was completed over two years and involved an investment of €3.2 million, has made the Litoral Port car park the first in the Aparcaments B:SM network to revamp its facilities and brand identity and expand its services in order to prioritise users and adapt to an increasingly digital, sustainability-conscious Barcelona. 

The new BSM car park model, which involves a modern design, a new range of services and a new concept of space that puts customers first, will gradually be deployed throughout the entire network. 

The Litoral Port car park will also be the first in the network to run partially on renewable electric energy generated by the Port Olímpic’s solar panels. This is expected to happen in 2026, when this installation will provide electricity to other BSM facilities beyond the port, making it the largest shared self-consumption photovoltaic installation in the city.  

Preferential area for charging electric vehicles and an exclusive space for bikes

The new car park model prioritises sustainable mobility. That’s why Litoral Port has a single well-marked area for 16 Endolla Barcelona (the city’s e-mobility network) charging stations. More specifically, the space includes 12 charging stations for cars and 4 for motorcycles, in addition to the 1,000 stations that Endolla Barcelona is already operating throughout the city.   

The Litoral Port car park also has a Bicipark with 30 spaces, bringing the total number of Aparcaments B:SM’s safe, exclusive bicycle parking sites to 10. Like the rest of Biciparks, this space will have video surveillance, and to access the area, individuals must be registered Aparcaments B:SM bicycle members or users of the per-day or per-hour bicycle parking service.

A pioneering monitoring system and a new customer service space    

As for technological improvements, the car park incorporates digital devices that provide information in a dynamic, user-friendly format.

It also has an innovative monitoring system for all spaces, featuring pioneering Aparcaments B:SM technology that gives car park staff remote access to information on occupancy level, while also providing live footage of each parking spot.   

Furthermore, the number plate reading system allowing vehicles to enter and exit the car park has been optimised. This option is also available for motorcycles that are registered with SMOU, meaning that there are now 19 BSM car parks which, through SMOU, allow motorcycles to enter without having to first collect a ticket. 

Another notable addition is the Customer Space, which replaces the control room and is located at the entrance to the car park, offering a welcoming environment where users can receive in-person assistance if they have any issues. The space also has an interactive screen that provides video-call service when the office is closed.   

These new features make the car park experience more convenient, streamlined and friendly, not to mention safer as well. 

New services for better and more sustainable urban goods distribution 

The Litoral Port car park is also opening an area specially designed for parcel collection. Located on the first floor, it has Click&Collect lockers and bins for sorting and disposing of paper and plastic. This new area is open to the public 24/7 for order collection or drop-off, and seeks to offer local residents and workers a sustainable alternative to home delivery of online purchases.

With the same goal of helping reduce traffic and polluting emissions linked to urban goods distribution, the car park also includes a last-mile distribution centre. This is a restricted-access site where logistics operators’ vans can unload packages, usually at night, and distribute them to the end consumer using smaller and more sustainable vehicles, or on foot. 

A new look to reflect the values and dynamic nature of the Aparcaments BSM network

The reopening of the Litoral Port car park also marks the launch of the Aparcaments BSM network’s new brand image. This new visual and graphic identity conveys the values and dynamic role that BSM car parks will play in a city increasingly committed to e-mobility, shared vehicles and more efficient goods distribution. 

The new Aparcaments BSM logo is based on fine, rounded lines and a colour scheme that plays with green, grey and white. This combination of friendly, natural and modern elements is linked to the values of BSM car parks – sustainability, freshness, simplicity, clarity and safety – while also conveying excitement and improving user experience.

Aparcaments BSM’s new image will additionally be used in the interior design of the Litoral Port car park, which will also feature rounded lines and the combination of green, grey and white. The new lighting system, based on LED technology will make the space warm and comfortable. The colour adapts to the colour of each floor, thus integrating the design of the other elements. Furthermore, the brightness depends on whether or not there is activity in the car park, contributing to energy savings. 

The Parc d'atraccions Tibidabo and the Sant Pau Research Institute have signed an agreement to increase research outreach with a gender perspective and spark an interest in science among young children, with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science as a focal point

The first of three outreach days to be held at Tibidabo will take place on 20 July, with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of science and the role of women, in preparation for the next International Day of Women and Girls in Science in February 2025

The project revolves around the story of Mariona, an inquisitive eight-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a researcher. Over several days, the children at the park will help Mariona with her science adventure

The Parc d'atraccions Tibidabo and the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) have signed a partnership agreement to boost science outreach with a gender perspective and spark an interest in science among young children. The main focus will be the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which will take place in February 2025. The agreement reflects the two organisations’ shared commitment to making society fairer and more aware of the importance of science and the role of women in it and to promoting a project that combines science, the gender perspective, fun and outreach.

The new partnership will kick off with a day of science through fun at Tibidabo, on 20 July, to promote research with a gender perspective. This will be the first of three events to create awareness and anticipation, building up to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 9 February 2025.

Science with a gender perspective

IR Sant Pau is the only research institute in Catalonia with a cross-cutting gender programme. The strategic programme’s main goals include putting an end to the gender bias and democratising the role of women and girls in science, highlighting the importance of research into diseases that disproportionately affect women, properly identifying symptoms with gender in mind, including the gender perspective from the earliest stages of research, highlighting the role of women in research, encouraging women to get involved in both scientific and outreach activities, and promoting careers in science for girls and young women.

The Parc d'atraccions Tibidabo, which is well known for its dedication to educational and charity projects, works together with various organisations to highlight high-social-impact initiatives. This makes the park the perfect setting for introducing families to the research institute’s work.

The agreement with IR Sant Pau reinforces Parc d’atraccions Tibidabo’s commitment to education and to encouraging students, particularly young women, to embark on science careers. During the year, the park will become a scientific testing ground for Fisidabo, an event whose last edition attracted over 2,100 students from 58 schools in the fourth year of compulsory education (ESO) and in higher secondary education. Tibidabo also carries out other educational initiatives, such as the CreaTibi space by Lego Education, where children can experiment with robotics and science.  

Careers for girls

Many little girls want to be researchers or scientists when they grow up, but they often abandon this dream as teenagers. Some of the main reasons for this are the lack of close role models, gender stereotypes in society (as well as in schools) and a drop – which is particularly sharp in the case of girls – in self-esteem during those years, all of which leads to many of them ruling out certain careers as options for the future.

IR Sant Pau wants to help by providing content and materials to highlight the importance of the gender perspective in the field of health, showcase the various initiatives currently in progress in this regard and fight against misinformation while helping level the playing field.

The story: Mariona’s great adventure

The project will revolve around the story of Mariona, a lively and inquisitive eight-year-old girl in the third year of primary school. Mariona has many friends at school and is very interested in the world of science. She loves going outside at break time and enjoying the outdoors while playing with her friends.

Mariona is very observant. When she was younger, she loved doing experiments by mixing liquids and many other things. Now that she’s a bit older, although she still loves experiments, what she really wants to do is find out how the human body works inside. 

Mariona has a special ability. She has the superpower of being the most inquisitive girl in the world. When she grows up, she wants to be a researcher so that she can do experiments all day long and find the answers to all her questions. She wants to use her discoveries to find cures for diseases and save many lives! 

When she was younger, she would spend days on end playing at doing experiments with her friends, but she is finding it increasingly difficult to find other girls to play with her. Now she is going to ask all the children who go to Tibidabo during the outreach days to help her friends regain the excitement, enthusiasm and strength to become the scientists they once dreamed of being.

Families will get the chance to help her discover the body’s most important vital organs and accompany her in her adventure of learning all about the brain, heart, muscles and blood during the outreach days scheduled for 20 July, 21 September and 24 November 2024, and on 9 February 2025 there will be a party in which Mariona and her friends will show off their girl power as skilled experimenters once again.

Activities for all ages

Scientists from IR Sant Pau will lead various scientific outreach activities during the three events and on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. These will include talks, workshops and discussions, as well as fun activities for children, such as our giant science puzzle. And it will all be done with a gender perspective.

For more details about the project, and to view the programme for 20 July, go to: https://www.recercasantpau.cat/tot-el-que-has-de-saber-sobre-el-programa-tibidabo-2024/.
 

The event, completely free and open to all, will take place on 21 July and fill the Port Olímpic with family activities, games and concerts by artists such as Andrea Motis and Susana Sheiman 

Barcelona residents will be able rediscover the new Port Olímpic on 21 July from 10 am to 9 pm with a huge public party, completely free of charge, that will fill the space with family activities, workshops and concerts. 

The goal of the event is to showcase the results of the work that BSM has been carrying out since 2020 on behalf of Ajuntament de Barcelona to transform the Port Olímpic into an urban destination with spacious areas for walking, exercising or playing sport and enjoying leisure time, all in a revamped, sustainable environment that brings together nautical activities, the blue economy and great food. 

The Moll de Mestral quay will host most of the day’s activities in an event that will kick off the gradual reopening of the Port Olímpic. 

Children’s games will start at 10 am and continue until 1 pm alongside a range of workshops related to sailing, the sea and sustainability. Kids will be able to make sail boats, design paper stars, build sandcastles and more. 

The morning’s entertainment will be provided by a pair of stilt-walkers, two giant fish that will wander around the Port Olímpic inviting everyone to join them for a stroll. The Sound de Secà performing arts group will also be there to fill the Passeig Marítim promenade and the Port Olímpic’s new urban spaces with the music and rhythms of their travelling show from 11 am onwards. 

The morning’s programme will be rounded off with two family shows. At 12 noon, SalvaMars Cirkus will use theatre to teach the audience about life in the sea, educating children about the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems. Before lunch, at 1 pm, cover band Els Superherois i la Gran Aventura will be performing iconic pop songs in a show for audiences of all ages. 

After a break for lunch, at 5 pm the game and workshop programme will resume. Music and rhythm will be the order of the day once again from 6 pm onwards, when Sound de Secà will again wander around the Passeig Marítim seafront promenade and the different quays to encourage visitors to explore the new spaces.  

The day will end with two top-notch musical events. At 7 pm, renowned singer Susana Sheiman will be leading a jazz sextet with a wide-ranging repertoire covering all styles within the genre. Then at 8 pm, the Andrea Motis Singular Quintet will bring the party to a close with a performance featuring both classical and contemporary jazz. The two concerts are the run-up to the jazz programme that will be taking place at the Port Olímpic weekends in September and October, dovetailing with the youth and women’s America’s Cup regattas.

In addition to the family and cultural activities, anyone who stops by the Port Olímpic will be able to enjoy tasty eats in the food truck area. 

This will enable people to enter the site more smoothly, preventing unnecessary travel in the area and fostering harmony with local residents

Park Güell is moving forward with measures to support a more sustainable and planned tourism strategy with a positive impact on the local area. To encourage scheduled visits, enable smooth and staggered access to the park and prevent unnecessary travel and frustration due to the unavailability of tickets, from 1 July tickets to the park will only be available online. 

To publicise the new rule, Park Güell has launched a campaign for visitors both at points of origin and in strategic places throughout Barcelona, such as the public transport network, the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport terminals and various city hotels. 

This is one of the specific measures included in the city’s Plan for Managing Busy Areas (EGA), a model recently unveiled by Ajuntament de Barcelona to manage popular tourist areas.

This initiative is a new step by Park Güell in its efforts to ensure that visitors, local residents and schools can all enjoy the site and to reduce the negative effects of tourism on the local area. In 2020, Barcelona de Serveis Municipals – which manages access to the park on behalf of Ajuntament de Barcelona – reduced the park’s maximum annual capacity from an estimated 9 million visitors to the current 4.5 million. Furthermore, visitors are granted admission during specific time slots, enabling the park to restrict access and control capacity.  

At the same time, in recent years there have been campaigns to encourage visitors to buy their tickets online on the Park Güell website, and online sales already account for over 85% of tickets purchased in 2024. Park Güell also provides real-time information on the availability of tickets on its official channels and through partnerships with organisations such as TMB, Turisme de Barcelona and the Barcelona Hotel Guild, which warn visitors when there are no tickets available and encourage them to buy them online in advance. 

By selling tickets exclusively online, Park Güell encourages scheduled access to the site and ensures that prospective visitors without a ticket do not travel to the area unnecessarily, addressing issues raised by local residents. 

Exclusively online ticket sales also mean that Park Güell’s ticket offices can be repurposed, for example as information points or to manage groups or handle incidents and refunds, among other possibilities.

A park for the people

Enabling the public to use Park Güell for sports and recreation and to share this space with others is one of BSM’s top priorities. To support this everyday use, local residents enjoy exclusive entrances, designated time slots (“Good morning, Barcelona” and “Good evening, Barcelona”) and a card that gives them admission to the park during public opening hours. 

Over 500,000 people visited Park Güell with this local resident card in 2023, and 164,000 city residents did so with the Gaudir Més programme. 

Participatory talks on animal welfare, as well as meet and greets with animal keepers, will be held every day of the week

Summer camps are back too, with over 1,000 participants 

The summer programme at Zoo de Barcelona is kicking off in time for the start of the school holidays. Every day of the week from today until early September, visitors to the Zoo will get the chance to take part in a wide variety of family activities. 

These will include, among others, participatory talks on animal welfare and the protection of endangered species, as well as meet and greets with animal keepers and tours of the Invertebrates area. 

For the second consecutive year, Ludo Zoo, the educational area where visitors to the Zoo can learn and find out about the planet's biodiversity through books, games and other media, will also be open. You can find it in the Welcome Classroom, and it is free to enter. 

All these activities are included in the park admission fee. You can check the times on the Zoo de Barcelona website. 

Zoo Club member activities will continue over the holidays, and summer camps are now starting too 

In addition to this range of summer activities, Zoo Club members can continue to enjoy the five Nature Passport activities, which will also be held on weekdays for the next few months. To take part, you must first register on the Zoo website.  

The Nature Passport is a Zoo de Barcelona educational initiative designed to teach young children about the biodiversity of our planet through fun and lively activities.     

During the next few weeks, the Zoo will also hold summer camps for 5 to 14-year-olds. There will be 11 different activities this year, all of them aimed at raising awareness of the importance of preserving biodiversity and the natural environment. The full list of activities is available on the Zoo website. Over 1,000 participants have already registered to take part, and a few places are still available. 
 

With the theme of “MUHBA & Park Güell: Music, Radio, Barcelona”, the programme will rediscover the choral tradition inspired by Clavé’s legacy, mark the centenary of radio in Barcelona and will be serving up a series of film screenings devoted to film director Ventura Pons

Park Güell and the Barcelona History Museum (MUHBA) are working together on a programme that also includes historical, literary and naturalist walks and tours

On Thursday 27 June, Park Güell will be launching its cultural programme for the summer season, organised in collaboration with the Barcelona History Museum (MUHBA). The programme will pay tribute to the legacy of Josep Anselm Clavé, author and founder of the choral movement in Catalonia, and to the Barcelona film director Ventura Pons, who died at the start of 2024. 

With the theme of “MUHBA & Park Güell: Music, Radio, Barcelona”, the programme offers members of the public a unique opportunity to enjoy Gaudí’s work with cultural events and activities for discovering the history of the city and showcasing its artistic, architectural, literary and natural heritage.

Centenary of the first radio broadcasts in the city

From 27 June, and on four consecutive Thursdays, the Plaça de la Natura will be hosting the concerts in the “Music, Radio, Barcelona” series. The programme rediscovers the work of Anselm Clavé - on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth - and the Catalan choral tradition. The programme will also be paying tribute to the choirs, jazz and chamber songs that were first played on the radio in the early decades of the 20th century. In this way it also seeks to celebrate the centenary of the first radio broadcasts in the city. 

• Josep Anselm Clavé and his times: Renaissance, associations and republic, with Canendi Elegantia (27 June, at 8.30 pm)
• Venim de Clavé! [We Come from Clavé!], with the Granollers Chamber Choir (4 July, at 8.30 pm)
• Barcelona, capital of jazz, with Barcelona Jazz Revival (11 July, at 8.30 pm)
• Classics on the radio, with Ars Movens (18 July, at 8.30 pm)

Tickets for the concerts are free of charge and can be booked on the MUHBA website.

“Barcelona en Moviment 2024” [Barcelona in Motion 2024] series of film screenings

This year, the “Barcelona in Motion” series of film screenings is devoted to Ventura Pons. The Plaça de la Natura will host the screenings of the documentary Ocaña. Retrat intermitent, which offers a look back at the life of one of the leading figures of the 1970s countercultural movement, coinciding with LGTBIQ+ Pride Day, and the films El perquè de tot plegat and Barcelona (un mapa), which reflect the Barcelona film director’s view of the city. 

• Ocaña. Retrat intermitent [Ocaña, an Intermittent Portrait] (28 June, at 9.30 pm)
• El perquè de tot plegat [Why, Why, Why] (5 July, at 9.30 pm)
• Barcelona (un mapa) [Barcelona (A Map)] (12 July, at 9.30 pm)

Tickets for the films are free of charge and can be booked on the MUHBA website.

Historical walks and tours in the Park and surrounding area

Park Güell’s cultural programme for the summer season will also include historical walks during which participants will learn more about the history of the Park, the work of Antoni Gaudí and his relationship with the city, and how the surrounding neighbourhoods have evolved. 

These guided tours will cost €2 and last between one and three hours. Tickets can be booked via the MUHBA website.

• Park Güell and water. From Muntanya Pelada [“Bare Mountain”] to the city’s garden (2 June, at 10 am)
• The pull of the mountain. Literary walks through Park Güell (28 June, at 7 pm and 21 September, at 11 am)
• Park Güell and Barcelona (16 June and 1 September at 10 am)
• Barcelona’s first balcony. The growth of the city as seen from the Tres Turons (22 June and 7 September at 6 pm)
• Gràcia 1900. The bourgeois showcase of a working-class neighbourhood (7 July, at 10 am)
• Gaudí in Park Güell: architect, urban planner and landscape designer (11 July, at 6 pm)
• Gardening in Park Güell (15 September, at 10 am)
• Architecture and nature in Park Güell (28 September, at 10 am)

The electricity generation capacity of BSM's spaces will increase eightfold over the next two years, with an installed photovoltaic power of almost 2 MWp  

The resulting energy will cover around 15% of BSM's annual electricity needs    

Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM) is moving forward in its energy self-sufficiency and decarbonisation plan with the addition of new photovoltaic installations. BSM will install 4,200 solar panels for self-consumption in its facilities over the next two years, thus helping make the necessary energy transition towards a self-sufficiency model that relies less on fossil fuels. 

The new panels will cover a total of 9,700 m², increasing BSM's electricity generation capacity eightfold thanks to an installed photovoltaic power of almost 2 MWp. This leap forward reaffirms the company's commitment to sustainability and to mitigating the effects of climate change. 

The energy generated by these installations will produce about 15% of the annual electricity used by BSM's facilities. Its remaining energy needs will continue to be met with electricity that is 100% of renewable origin and certified at source, as is already the case. 

The project has an estimated total budget of €4 million. 

According to Laia Bonet, First Deputy Mayor and President of BSM, "expanding the photovoltaic installations in BSM's spaces highlights this municipal company's firm commitment to sustainability and decarbonisation and supplements the municipal plan of producing five times more solar energy in public spaces and facilities by 2030". The deputy mayor added that projects such as this "are what makes Barcelona a sustainable and pioneering city capable of becoming a major generator of green energy".

The largest panels will be in the Port Olímpic, the Anella Olímpica and Tibidabo    

The solar panels' locations have been chosen according to each building’s orientation, characteristics and the hours they are exposed to the sun. 

The largest installation will be at the Port Olímpic, more specifically on the Gastronomic Balcony rooftop, where construction work is almost finished. It consists of 3,560 m² of solar panels with a generation capacity of over 825,000 kWh per year. That makes it the city's largest shared self-consumption installation.

The energy produced by it will provide enough electricity to cover the needs of the port itself as well as other BSM spaces nearby. Of particular significance in the Port Olímpic’s case is the fact that the energy produced will supply the two e-boat chargers that are due to come into operation towards the end of the summer. In addition, thanks to their arrangement in the form of pergolas, they will provide shade to the entire Gastronomic Balcony. 

The Anella Olímpica will also play a significant role in this energy self-sufficiency and decarbonisation plan. It will have a surface area of 2,877 m² of solar panels and will produce 791,060 kWh per year to cover part of its electricity needs. Work has already started on the Anella Olímpica's largest installation, which will cover an area of 2,316 m² at the Palau Sant Jordi and will come into operation later this year. The other one, covering over 500 m², will be at the Estadi Olímpic. 

The other large photovoltaic panel will be located at Tibidabo. It will have a surface area of around 1,600 m² and will be installed on a canopy above one of the amusement’s park's car parks. This installation, which is due to be built by 2025, will have an annual electricity generation capacity of around 360,000 kWh, which will be used to cover part of the park's electricity needs. 

The other BSM spaces that will generate electricity from renewable sources will be Zoo de Barcelona, the Barcelona Nord bus station, Parc del Fòrum and Cementiris de Barcelona. 

The new photovoltaic installations, which are still under study, will increase the generation potential of Zoo de Barcelona and Cementiris de Barcelona. The new installation at Barcelona Nord will be a first for the bus station, while Parc del Fòrum will have a 101 m² panel.  

Sustainability, one of BSM's core lines of action 

Sustainability is one of BSM's global strategic lines. In accordance with its aim of making Barcelona more sustainable, the company takes an environmental, social and good governance approach to all its experiences and activities. 

This commitment can be seen in its promotion of actions designed to reduce emissions and the use of resources, and also have a positive social impact, as well as in the sustainable management of all its premises. 

In addition to electrifying its vehicles, reusing materials and using less drinking water, BSM actively contributes to the decarbonisation of mobility in the city by helping its residents switch to electric vehicles. It does this, among other ways, through the Endolla Barcelona e-mobility network, which already boasts 1,000 EV charging points spread across the city and is getting ready to increase this number to 3,000. 

BSM is also enabling the Port Olímpic to become a benchmark of environmental management. A green port that promotes projects to help decarbonise the nautical sector, reduce waste and use more green energy. Moreover, it facilitates regeneration of the seabed by fitting biotopes and cages that are designed to encourage restoration of marine ecosystems. 

In addition, BSM is bringing nature closer to the public through Zoo de Barcelona by raising awareness of the importance of preserving biodiversity, as well as enabling endangered native species to be reintroduced to the area. 

BSM has received many seals and certificates for its commitment to sustainability. In the field of responsible tourism, the Anella Olímpica, Park Güell, Zoo de Barcelona and Tibidabo have the Biosphere certificate, which is awarded to companies committed to environmentally friendly management models that also ensure a social return on their activities. 

Furthermore, BSM's activities are backed by its SGE21 certification, which includes environmental, social and good governance aspects; ISO 14001 certification, which validates environmental management; and the certificate awarded under the European EMAS regulation on eco-management and auditing. 

The exhibition will revisit the 40 covers of the benchmark Art Nouveau magazine whose last issue is devoted to the history of Park Güell’s construction

The exhibition is free of charge and open from Thursday to Sunday between 13 and 30 June at Casa Jaqués

From tomorrow until 30 June, Casa Jaqués in Park Güell is hosting an exhibition on the history of the magazine Coup de Fouet, the benchmark Art Nouveau magazine whose last issue is devoted to the origins of Park Güell. With this exhibition, the Park and the magazine are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Park’s declaration as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

The exhibition will be free of charge and open from Thursday to Sunday. It will feature reproductions of the 40 covers in Coup de Fouet’s history, which feature architectural and ornamental elements of iconic Art Nouveau constructions, showing the nature-inspired forms and motifs that are the movement’s hallmark. 

The cover of the magazine’s last issue featured one of the ornamental representations of the sun found in the Hypostyle Hall in Park Güell. This image shows details of how Gaudí used the trencadís technique to represent natural elements. This last edition of Coup de Fouet also contains an extensive article surveying the beginnings of Park Güell and Eusebi Güell and Antoni Gaudí’s original plans to build what was supposed to be an urbanised park. 

World Heritage

Park Güell was one of Gaudí’s first works to be recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, in 1984. This recognition showcases its value as a cultural asset and confirms the artist's contribution to the evolution of architecture thanks to his personal style, which was at the vanguard of Modernisme, one of whose peak expressions is Park Güell. 

The Coup de Fouet exhibition pays tribute to this international benchmark Art Nouveau magazine and celebrates the 40th anniversary of Park Güell's recognition as a World Heritage Site.