The Tibidabo Amusement Park, together with the Association of Relatives and Friends of Oncological Children of Catalonia (AFANOC), is hosting a new edition of the "Wear your cap!" charity event

The event, which will take place this Sunday, aims to raise awareness of all children and adolescents suffering from this disease and their families

Tomorrow, Sunday 18 September, from 11.00 a.m., a new edition of the "Wear your cap!" day will be held at the Tibidabo Amusement Park. This event provides insight into the day-to-day life of children and adolescents with cancer and their families.

Tibidabo, much more than an amusement park

Tibidabo is known for being a venue that supports not-for-profit organisations that work to help the groups most in need. AFANOC was founded in 1987 with the aim of raising the profile of children and adolescents suffering from the disease and their families, as well as providing support and psychosocial care to those affected and those in their immediate environment.

One year after the first edition, the link between Tibidabo and AFANOC has led to the celebration of the second "Posa't la Gorra!" charity day in one of the most magical and emblematic places in the city of Barcelona, the Tibidabo Amusement Park.

Throughout the day, members of AFANOC will inform all Park visitors about their work and hand out free charity caps to the first 2,000 visitors.

With this festival, Tibidabo will have held a total of 12 charity and cultural events since the start of the season in March 2022, with more than 40,000 participants.

A day not to be missed

"Wear your cap!" emerged in 2001 from the need to share the reality of children and adolescents with cancer and their families in a fun and entertaining space, with the main objective of normalising the illness and alleviating the needs that arise from their diagnosis.
Twenty years after its first edition, AFANOC has organised more than 80 charity events in which more than 7,500 volunteers have taken part and around 1,000,000 hats have been distributed.

The B:SM Parking Network will have seven new Biciparks, the safe and exclusive bicycle parking areas which, as well as being made bigger, will have a brand-new image

The six Biciparks that are already in operation have around 300 spaces, more than 200 registered users and an average occupancy rate of 75%

The B:SM Parking Network continues to move forward in promoting the use of bicycles with the creation of new Biciparks, the secure and exclusive bicycle parking areas within B:SM Car Parks which, in addition to growing in size, have a new image to improve the user experience.   

With the aim of continuing to contribute to an improved management of public space and to offer comfortable and secure areas for bicycle users, the current offer of secure bicycle parking spaces will be doubled by the summer of next year with the creation of seven new Biciparks.

To be exact, secure and exclusive areas for bicycles will be established in the following car parks: B:SM Bilbao, B:SM Ciutat del Teatre, B:SM Gràcia Motos, B:SM Hospital del Mar, B:SM Ona Glòries, B:SM Sant Andreu Teatre and B:SM Travessera de Dalt. In total, there will be seven new Biciparks, each initially with 50 places.

The Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Mobility, Laia Bonet, assured that "the commitment to cycling as a sustainable mobility alternative involves creating the necessary infrastructure, as we are already doing with the cycle lanes, and also offering parking options". Bonet added that, "the Biciparks will benefit both users, who will find a secure parking option, and the city as a whole, because with the Biciparks we will be freeing up public space".

The seven new Biciparks are in addition to the six that have been in operation since last year, making a total of 294 spaces: B:SM Illa Borbó, B:SM Estació del Nord, B:SM Mercat de la Boqueria, B:SM Plaça Joanic, B:SM Plaça Naves and B:SM Mercat de Sant Antoni. The average occupancy of the six Biciparks is 75% and there are 215 registered users.
In addition to the Biciparks, B:SM Car Parks have for years had about 900 conventional parking spaces for bicycles. This service has an average occupancy rate of 65% and around 600 registered users.

A convenient place to leave bicycles that also improves the management of public space
As well as improving the experience of people who move around the city by bicycle, Biciparks contribute to better management of public space, freeing up space for pedestrians on the pavements.  

Following the model of the Biciparks already in operation, the new exclusive bicycle parking places in the B:SM Car Parks will be monitored by video surveillance and will require ID to access the area, allowing entry only to those entitled to use this exclusive zone: people who are subscribers of the B:SM Parking Network bicycle option and those using the bicycle parking service by the day or hour. In the Biciparks, bicycles must be chained to the assigned place and users have access to a pump to inflate the tyres. Furthermore, these spaces will soon be equipped with a small bicycle repair and maintenance station with basic equipment, thereby contributing to safer mobility.

B:SM, promoting new urban mobility

One of the main objectives of B:SM is to contribute to the improvement of the city's mobility, understood as being sustainable, healthy, efficient, connected and shared. B:SM has already headed different projects in the field of digitisation and innovation that have been gradually transforming the concept of parking in the city. Today, this is a step forward in this commitment to a global transformation and in tackling the key challenges facing cities: environmental pollution, time saving and the optimisation of public space.

The addition of new Biciparks is yet another step in the transformation in which the B:SM Car Parks are already immersed. The aim of this transformation is to turn car parks into true mobility hubs, combining solutions and services that go far beyond parking cars:

• The provision of 3G and 4G coverage in all car parks, which have already been prepared for the arrival of 5G.
• Access to the parking service by the minute via the personal mobility application Smou, which allows quick access through number plate identification and payment for the actual minutes of stay, without having to go to the automatic car park pay station.
• There are 492 electric recharging points (293 for cars and 199 for motorbikes) and smart energy management that makes it possible to take advantage of surplus production at night.
• Click&Collect smart service with more than 1,000 lockers in 33 B:SM Car Park Network car parks managed by independent operators and refrigerated smart stations in four car parks serving the Boqueria Market, Sant Antoni Market, Guinardó Market and Sagrada Família Market.
• Spaces for the urban micro-distribution of goods in eight car parks of the B:SM network.
• Accommodation of vehicles to provide sharing services and renting of vehicles through independent operators.

On 24 September, as part of the La Mercè festivities, the Olympic Port will be open to Barcelona residents so they can see how this public space is being transformed 

“Blue Saturday at the Olympic Port” will have informative workshops on the sea and the oceans run by the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM) – CSIC, as well as dance shows and music from Joan Colomo 

The end of this month will see the start of development work on the sea wall and renovation of the spaces that will hold the city’s first blue economy centre

This coming 24 September, as part of the La Mercè festivities, the Olympic Port will host a day of informative, cultural and family activities to show the public how the Port is being transformed and its commitment to becoming a space committed to Barcelona’s dynamism. Entitled “Blue Saturday at the Olympic Port” and taking place between 10 am and 2 pm, it will offer free workshops plus dance, circus, music and other activities.   

Science, dance, circus and music for the whole family 

“Blue Saturday at the Olympic Port”, artistically curated by Oriol Martí, kicks off at 10 am with the “Oceanic Workshops”, run by the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM) – CSIC. This is a series of informative activities designed for everyone so they can explore the secrets of the oceans and learn, among other things, how to identify the state of the sea in Barcelona and the role of the oceans in our planet’s health.

These will be followed by a travelling show called “Possê”, from the group Sound de Secà, starting at 11 am. Percussion, dance and theatre vindicating the community, the group and the family. 

At 12 noon, it will be the turn of Circ Pistolet, a circus company who will be performing the show “When our feet didn’t touch the ground”. Their proposal, freely adapted to the circus through acrobatic balancing, is based on the friendship between two friends.    

Finally, at 1 pm, the artist Joan Colomo will be offering a concert with various instruments and sounds designed to suit all tastes. 

The Olympic Port, a new space committed to Barcelona 

The transformation of the Olympic Port, promoted by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) on behalf of Barcelona City Council, is already under way and is progressing at a steady pace with the 2024 America’s Cup as its target. Indeed, the refurbishment of the premises that are to house the first centre for the city’s blue economy will begin at the end of this month. Work will also start on developing the sea wall, which will become the new seafront promenade. This work is in addition to the construction of a new entrance, also under way, that will link the city with the port, and the new Gastronomic Balcony, which will become a reality in the summer of 2024. 
 

The number of visitors rose by 14% compared to last summer, also surpassing pre-pandemic figures

From June to August, 3,000 new members joined the Zoo Club, five times more than three years ago 

The new Invertebrates Space and the Nature Passport, two of the summer’s big successes  

Barcelona Zoo closes the summer with highly positive figures. Since the end of the school year, the zoo has had 183,894 visitors, nearly 14% up on last summer's figures and up almost 12% on summer 2019, which closed with 164,800 visitors. These figures confirm the consolidation in the recovery that began after the COVID-19 lockdown.

The rise is not only in the number of visitors but also in the number of new Zoo Club members, who are entitled to unlimited entry into the Zoo for 12 months, along with other benefits and discounts. A total of 3,097 new members registered between June and August, compared to 579 in 2019. And there have been 7,593 new registrations since January. In total, the Zoo Club family now has 80,599 members, 26,000 more than three years ago. 

According to the third Deputy to the Mayor’s Office and chair of the Zoo Foundation, Laia Bonet, “these figures show that the new features presented in recent months and the new model for Barcelona Zoo have been well received by families”. Of particular note is the Invertebrates Space, the new Zoo facility featuring this under-represented group of animals in zoos of vital importance to habitats. Since it opened in June, it has received 87,940 visitors, who have mostly rated it with a score of between 8 and 10.  

Success of the new Nature Passport and the summer activities 

The new Nature Passport, introduced in July, has also proved a major success among members who have started to use it, with over 1,400 passports issued in just two months. This document, in the format of a real passport, allows Zoo Club members to take part all year round in free and exclusive activities on biodiversity and its conservation. The first such activity, called “Discovering the Zoo”, received a score of 9.6 among participants, and the second activity “Primates and humans, first cousins” is shortly to be programmed.  

Also well received were the activities open to the general public, which were programmed every day in the summer. These activities allow visitors to take a closer look at the day-to-day life of the Zoo and the conservation work that is carried out. Among the most successful were the new encounters with carers, who explained to visitors the care and attention given to the penguins and the sea lions, yet another example of the importance Barcelona Zoo places on animal welfare. 

And once again this year, the summer activity programmes were very well attended, with all the places filled just a few hours after registration began on 9 May. A total of 934 children took part from June to August, 60 more than the number of participants in the summer of 2019. These are activity programmes the Zoo offers in the summer, Christmas, Easter and other school holidays, giving children and teenagers a chance to get a closer look at the animal world, promoting respect for biodiversity and the natural environment. 

The Zoo remodelling work has continued throughout the summer months

As planned, the largest tasks in the demolition of the old Aquarium were completed in August, although the work will continue until November. All the work was carried out ensuring that acoustic and environmental impact was kept to a minimum and guaranteeing the well-being of the Zoo animals at all times. The newly empty space will be used as an animal reserve, a new facility scheduled for completion in the summer of 2024 for housing Zoo species temporarily affected by the improvements planned in coming years. This work is part of the new model for Barcelona Zoo, approved in 2019. 
 

The proposals selected to make visits to Park Güell and Barcelona Zoo more inclusive and improve the occupancy of parking places for people with functional diversity are to be put into practice at the start of the coming year 

These technological solutions were chosen and developed with the support and accompaniment of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities and various organisations connected to the Accessibility and Independent Living Network  

Led by the Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) and the Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation under its Digital Future Society programme, the InnovAcció 2030 programme is making headway in the implementation of the first technological apps proposed for speeding up compliance with the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (ODS).

These are the solutions thought up for the first three challenges posed towards the end of last year, the goal of which was to devise technological solutions to make visits to Park Güell and Barcelona Zoo more inclusive, as well as find a technological mechanism for controlling the correct occupancy of street parking places reserved for people with functional diversity. 

The process for choosing the proposals, in the form of an innovation competition open to the public and launched by B:SM, and its implementation, are being carried out with the support and accompaniment of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities and various organisations linked to the Accessibility and Independent Living Network. 

A budget totalling 140,000 euros has been provided for the implementation of these three technological solutions. 

A mobile app adapted to the needs of its users 

The proposal selected for improving the experiences of Park Güell visitors with sensory and cognitive diversity involves an app that adapts the format of its contents to the needs of its users. It is particularly designed for people with visual, hearing and cognitive accessibility needs, although anyone can use it.

Developed by the company ‘Play&Go experience’, the app includes 2D maps, a user-profiles selector, audio-guide and videos and 360º images of Park Güell’s points of interest. All equipped with technologies such as geolocation, which help to create unique experiences while users travel through Park Güell.   

Exploring Barcelona Zoo with a virtual assistant 

As for the challenge posed to make visits to Barcelona Zoo more inclusive, the chosen solution is a virtual assistant who, through the user's mobile, suggests content related to the visit. It has been designed, above all, for people with visual, hearing and cognitive accessibility needs as well as individuals with mental-health problems.  
The conversational chatbot developed by the company La tempesta and launched as ZooBot. This technological tool is capable of interacting with users and showing interest in their experiences as they travel about the Zoo. It also provides them with information on each species they come across and offers guidance during their visit. 

The spaces in Barcelona Zoo selected for the pilot test for this virtual assistant are the Komodo Dragons Discovery Centre and the Savanna-Sahel space, thereby enabling the app to be used in indoor and outdoor spaces.  

Sensors capable of instantly detecting improperly parked vehicles 

The solution chosen for controlling the correct occupancy of street parking places reserved for individuals with functional diversity are sensors and an app that detect the presence of unauthorised vehicles parking in these places. The app and the sensors were developed by the Urbiotica group and designed to trigger an alarm when they detect the presence of an unauthorised car parking in these places, prompting the parking places’ security staff into action, thereby saving time and increasing efficiency.

The app also allows users to find out in real time the availability of these parking places, which have special sizes and are always located close to certain access points, as a means of contributing towards the independence of individuals with functional diversity. This live information gives the users of these places greater mobility and helps to reduce exhaust emissions, as it cuts the time it takes users to find a parking space.

Electro-mobility, another InnovAcció 2030 challenge  

These three technological solutions are already being developed and will start being implemented before the end of the year, ready for their launch as a pilot test in mid-February next year. 

At the same time, two other InnovAcció 2030 challenges remain open, also launched by the Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, B:SM and Mobile World Capital Barcelona under its Digital Future Society programme. They are two projects aimed at stimulating the transition towards electric vehicles, by facilitating their charging. More specifically, the search is for the design of a flexible charging point capable of covering several parking places, and producing a charging point that reduces the cost price of current models by 85%. 

Given its density and compactness, Barcelona is aiming to prioritise sustainable and planned charging during off-peak hours in car parks, thereby freeing up public space for other uses. So much so that 75% of Endolla Barcelona’s electro-mobility network charging points are located in B:SM Car Parks. Which is why the solutions to these two challenges will be implemented in parking places with Endolla Barcelona points. 
 

The e-mobility network run by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM), Endolla Barcelona, closes the first half of the year with 48,800 vehicle recharges, 48% more than in the same period last year  

Between January and June, five new charging points were installed, while fifty more will be put in place before the end of the year

The e-mobility network run by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM), Endolla Barcelona, continues to grow. During the first half of this year, usage increased by almost 48% compared to the same period last year. This increase confirms the upward trend of previous months and constitutes an all-time high since the service was launched. 

More specifically, between January and June 2022, Endolla Barcelona recorded 48,800 e-vehicle recharges, compared to 33,000 in the first half of last year. On average, this is 8,100 vehicle recharges a month, which is the highest figure recorded to date. 

These recharges have entailed supplying 479,000 kWh, 87% more than in the first half of 2021. The increase was mainly noted in the number and duration of e-vehicle recharges at Endolla Barcelona points located on the street. More specifically, the figure was 50% higher than for the same period last year. By contrast, the number of recharges carried out in B:SM's network of car parks registered a smaller increase, at 42%.  

The number of people using B:SM's e-mobility network also continued to rise. At present, the service has over 12,900 users, more than double the figure for last year, when it had 5,400. This is an increase of nearly 139%. 

Greater availability and more charging points 

During the first half of this year, the availability of Endolla Barcelona charging points also increased, rising from 93% to 98%. This improvement was achieved by reinforcing preventative-maintenance tasks, accompanied by the installation of five new on-street charging points. Furthermore, a further fifty will have been installed by the end of the year. In this case, in B:SM car parks. 

Barcelona, a leader in e-mobility in Southern Europe, with Endolla

With over 650 charging points distributed throughout the city, Endolla Barcelona is the largest public e-mobility network in Spain. There are currently 6.5 points per km2 distributed throughout the city’s neighbourhoods, with one charging point for every 11.4 electric vehicles and a service availability of 98%. Added to all the other public charging points, these figures make Barcelona the European city with the second highest number of charging points per km2, after Stockholm, and fourth for the number of points per resident, after Stockholm, Gothenburg and Oslo.

With the aim of contributing sustainably to the energy transition, 75% of Endolla Barcelona charging points are located in B:SM car parks, making it possible to prioritise planned recharging at low-demand times, in car parks, offering an efficient network to people who do not have charging points in their homes or at work. This also makes it possible to concentrate rapid charging points on the city's streets, for occasional, unplanned use, minimising the amount of occupied public space and reducing the external factors associated with parking.

The complete remodelling of this sports centre created for the 1992 Olympic Games and the creation of a new multi-purpose hall will be completed in the first quarter of 2024

Every year, some 18,000 people enjoy the Centre’s nautical activities such as paddle surfing, kayaking and scuba diving. More than 110,000 schoolchildren have taken up sailing since it was launched

Popular nautical activities are one of the main focal points of the Olympic Port’s transformation project, together with the blue economy and gastronomy 

Barcelona City Council has presented the renovation project of the Municipal Sailing Centre (CMV), which involves an investment of €4.2 million. The project, funded by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) as part of the Olympic Port’s transformation, and managed by the Barcelona Institute of Sports (IBE), includes the complete remodelling of this sports facility, which aims to promote popular water sports as one of the central features of the new Olympic Port project. The call for tenders for the works begins in October and the work is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

The first deputy mayor and chairman of B:SM, Jaume Collboni, said that “the Olympic Port continues to make progress in its transformation with a view to the 2024 America’s Cup. Inaugurated in 1992, on the occasion of the Olympic Games, the Municipal Sailing Centre was designed with the aim of becoming a meeting point for water sports and the citizens, and it is with this aim in mind that Barcelona City Council is undertaking this reform. We want the citizens to reconnect with the sea and to do it from here, from the new Olympic Port we are working on”. 

In the same spirit, the councillor for Sports, David Escudé, said that “the aim is to ensure that the CMV continues to be the gateway to water sports activities for Barcelona’s inhabitants. The refurbishment of this emblematic space for the nautical world is now essential, precisely at this key moment for sailing in Barcelona with the upcoming America’s Cup 2024”. 
 
The Barcelona Institute of Sports is working to promote yachting among the citizens and, in particular, among younger people. Every year, around 18,000 people use these facilities where they practise sailing, paddle boarding, kayaking and scuba diving: 1,200 with annual memberships and more than 1,600 on an occasional basis. The rest are children and young people, many of them from schools in Barcelona and the metropolitan area, and in the summer, participants of the Olímpia Nàutic Summer Camp. Since it was launched, more than 110,000 pupils from schools in the metropolitan area have taken up sailing.

A refurbishment based on the criteria of efficiency, sustainability and accessibility       

The refurbishment of the CMV building is part of the project to transform the Olympic Port, which is progressing at a steady pace, following the completion of the works on the Shelter Dyke (Dic de Recer). The commencement of the works on the new access that will connect the city with the port, as well as the new Gastronomic Balcony, due to become a reality in the summer of 2024, are also part of the project.

With the aim of making water sports accessible to the citizens, the CMV plans to carry out a complete refurbishment of the building in order to increase its range of services, as well as to adapt all the facilities according to criteria of efficiency, sustainability and accessibility. For this reason, the project is approached from two different angles. Firstly, the improvement of its facilities; and secondly, the construction of a new multi-purpose room, located in the upper part of the building. 

The new multi-purpose hall, managed by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM), is conceived as a daily space, adaptable to the needs of the users of the port, the CMV and the Barcelona City Council itself. This room will have good accessibility and an unbeatable view of the sea, overlooking the Shelter Dyke, and the launching of sailing boats from the ramp in the centre’s outer courtyard.

The refurbishment of the CMV also includes the repair of the different pathologies that have appeared over the years, such as the carbonation of the concrete and the water filtrations caused both by the rainwater tanks and by the dilatation joints of the building itself.

In addition to all this refurbishment, at the end of next September, work will begin on the restoration of the Shelter Dyke, which will enable four double-decker docks to be set up right in front of the CMV. This dyke, together with the Moll de Mestral, will house the city’s first centre for the blue economy. The renovation works of the Sailing School will begin in January 2023. These latest works, budgeted at €1.2 million, will be completed in four months. 

CMV forms part of the Blue Pavilion project

Led by the Barcelona Institute of Sports, the CMV is part of the Blue Pavilion project, the great public space of reference for practising sport on the seafront. There are, in total, five kilometres of coastline that stretch from Port Vell to Port Fòrum, and these include around 40 different sporting activities, all sea-related. 

The Olympic Port’s transformation progresses with the 2024 horizon

The remodelling of the CMV is a further step in the transformation process of the Olympic Port. This transformation, spearheaded by B:SM on behalf of Barcelona City Council and with the 2024 America’s Cup as a deadline, has as its priority to make the Olympic Port an open space that integrates the citizens and makes them participants in everything that happens there. And this is where the CMV plays an important role. 

The actions planned for the CMV are in addition to the construction of the new accesses and the configuration of the new areas dedicated to the white economy, which are already under way, and the new gastronomic area that will be located in Moll de Gregal. Three initiatives that will make it possible to create an Olympic Port that is open to the city and promotes sailing and the generation of economic activity related to the sea. 

30 years of CMV history    

This facility was founded in 1992 as the Barcelona Municipal Sailing Centre. Designed as part of the sports facilities built by the Barcelona City Council for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, its aim has always been to become the sports platform providing access to the sea for the citizens of Barcelona and for any sailing enthusiast. Since 2012, the CMV has grown as a nautical centre and incorporates new activities such as paddle boarding, kayaking and scuba diving.

Its range of services is aimed at all audiences, both for individuals, companies and organisations, as well as for educational centres. The Sailing School is managed by the Catalan Sailing Federation.

Further information:
Barcelona Municipal Sailing Centre
 

Keepers adopt a series of measures during the summer months to ensure the health and welfare of the animals

Notable measures include replacing drinking water more often and adding ice-cream into the diet of some species 

As is custom, Barcelona Zoo has adopted a series of special measures for the summer months to mitigate the effects that high temperatures have on the animals in its care. This care complements the daily tasks carried out by keepers looking after the animals and is in line with how the Zoo constantly strives for animal health and welfare. 

Notably, Barcelona Zoo’s location and vegetation means that average temperatures there are three degrees lower than for the rest of the city. This means that Parc de la Ciutadella, where the Zoo is located, is part of Barcelona City Council’s Climate Shelter Network. The network was established in 2019 and is made up of spaces that provide cooler temperatures for the most vulnerable during heatwaves, while maintaining their usual uses and functions. 

Despite being cooler, when temperatures climb high at Barcelona Zoo a protocol is activated with a series of measures to ensure that certain species can cope with the heat better. 

Fresh water and specially made ice-creams 

When temperatures are at their hottest, keepers renew the animals’ drinking water more often to ensure it is fresh, adding more drinking facilities if necessary. Cleaning protocols are also stepped up and the bathing water that some species have in their enclosures is renewed more often. The same applies to the mud baths, which play an important role in regulating the body temperatures of animals like warthogs and elephants. 

Only in exceptional cases, such as for the pair of red pandas, are water sprinklers activated to freshen up the enclosures. This also happens with the areas for the elephants, the bison, the dwarf buffalo and the Père David’s deer. Hosepipes are used in these cases. 
 
When temperatures are high, animals are generally guaranteed free access to the puddles in their enclosures, the gates to their quarters left open at all times.

Food is also an important consideration for keepers at Barcelona Zoo during the hot months. Besides making sure the animals are properly hydrated, keepers prepare ice-creams which are adapted to the diet of each species. They consist of an ice base with added fish, seafood, fruit, vegetables, juice or broth. For instance, the bears and primates are offered frozen fruit and ice-creams made with broth or fruit juice, while the giraffes are offered blocks of ice with fruit, and the mongooses and meerkats crushed ice with worms in it. 
 

The number of spectators attending the star show at the Amusement Park in August was higher than last summer

The number of visitors to the park also increased, doubling last year’s figure and reaching 300,000 people 

Tibidabo retains its iconic essence, taking new technology on board and backing sustainable mobility with the Cuca de Llum funicular, used by more than 680,000 people since its launch

Over 1,500 people attended the Laser Show at the Tibidabo Amusement Park in the first two sessions in August. The figure tops the average attendance from last year, when the main show attracted 500 people a day. 

The Laser Show is undoubtedly the star attraction at Tibidabo this August. A decade after it was first introduced, the show continues to capture people’s attention, becoming a unique experience at the top of the Collserola mountain, aimed at audiences of all ages.  

The show is offered in Plaça dels Somnis every evening in August at 9.30 pm, narrating the experiences of visitors to the Amusement Park through lights, colours and music. The first section represents people’s arrival at the park, with an epic soundtrack, while the second part describes the emotions and magical feelings which Tibidabo conveys to its visitors. Finally, a new section for this year offers songs which make reference to the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Olympic Games of 1992.

Over 300,000 visitors so far this season 

Since the 2022 season got under way in March, and counting local people and foreign visitors alike, the Tibidabo Amusement Park has welcomed more than 300,000 people in all. The figure is more than double the number from this time last year. It also shows that the park is making a strong post-pandemic recovery. 

One of the goals of the park is to nurture its essence as an iconic place, at the same time introducing the most advanced technology on the market. This has led to new rides such as the Virtual Express, a pioneering attraction in Catalonia in its use of virtual reality, and the Castell dels Contes, which was completely revamped and digitalised in 2019.

Tibidabo’s commitment to the environment

As part of its strategy on sustainability, the Tibidabo Amusement Park works to foster sustainable mobility, cut emissions and preserve the natural environment of the Collserola mountain range. In this respect, the Cuca de Llum funicular has become the main means of getting to the summit of Tibidabo, carrying over 680,000 people since it came into operation a little over a year ago and offering a unique experience with unparalleled views of Barcelona.

The Animal Care Discovery Centre will welcome visitors accessing the Zoo via the Parc de la Ciutadella, offering a space where people can discover the importance of responsible animal ownership  

Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) has started drafting the project for this new facility, which corresponds to the new model for the Zoo thanks to its educational and awareness aims 

The new space, to be created with EU Next Generation funding, will strengthen and promote the Zoo’s role as a centre adhering to the CITES international agreement on preventing the illegal trafficking of wild species 

Barcelona Zoo is preparing the Animal Care Discovery Centre, a new dissemination space on responsible animal ownership, geared towards the general public. With a surface area of around 600 square metres, the new centre will be located just next to the entrance in Parc de la Ciutadella, between the Invertebrates Space and the zebra enclosure. The centre will therefore act as a welcome point for all visitors entering the Zoo via the Parc de la Ciutadella.  

With the aim of making further progress on the new model for the Zoo, based on education, research and the preservation of biodiversity, Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) has started drafting the project which will determine what the new Animal Care Discovery Centre should be like. The centre is planned to open in the summer of 2024. With a budget of nearly 430,000 euros, the new centre has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, funded with EU Next Generation resources. 

A space for reflection on responsible animal ownership

Animal well-being is one of the core values in the new model for the Zoo. Because of this, the Animal Care Discovery Centre represents an important step towards Barcelona Zoo becoming a leading facility in biodiversity education and awareness. 

The new semi-open facility will feature information panels, multimedia elements and a space for workshops and educational activities. The centre will offer information and experiences for visitors, raising awareness about the importance of responsible animal ownership. 

Aimed at young and old alike, the content at the new facility will place a special emphasis on the need to avoid the illegal trafficking of threatened species and animals in general, as well as the risks of abandoning exotic animals in natural habitats and ecosystems.

Essentially, the centre will strengthen and promote the role of Barcelona Zoo as an institution which signed up to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) more than three decades ago in an effort to combat the illegal trafficking of species. Spain signed up to the agreement in 1986, leading to Barcelona becoming a rescue and shelter centre for animals confiscated by administrations. It is precisely the history and evolution of some of the animals taken in by the Zoo under this international agreement that the new centre will be explaining to its visitors.