Imatge
Imatge
On Saturday, 5 November, the Tibidabo amusement park commemorates 20 years of its public ownership by Barcelona City Council and its 121st anniversary with a day of festive events for all the family
Under Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) management , Tibidabo has accomplished great things, such as opening the Panoramic Area up to the public, the introduction of a new roller coaster and the launch of the “Cuca de Llum” funicular railway
The event will be attended by the City Councillor for Sarrià – Sant Gervasi and the Chair of Tibidabo Amusement Park, Albert Batlle
On Saturday, 5 November, the Tibidabo Amusement Park commemorates its 121st anniversary and 20 years of municipal ownership. The second Park Annual Festival will serve as a double celebration for Tibidabo, highlighting both Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) management for the past two decades and the 121-year history of the city’s most iconic park, and the second oldest in Europe, after Tívoli in Denmark.
The main aim of the festivities is to celebrate the historical ties that unite Barcelona and Tibidabo with the general public and to recall the great achievements of the past 20 years.
20 years of constant growth
Over the past two decades, thanks to the leadership of Barcelona City Council and the impetus of B:SM, the Tibidabo Amusement Park has improved in many aspects, always in accordance with the four key areas that guide the day-to-day running of the park: sustainability, education, experiences and solidarity.
As a result, over these last two decades, Tibidabo has clearly shown the added value that public management can bring to an iconic infrastructure like this park. Apart from all the improvements on a tangible level, such as the new attractions, the modernisation of the spaces or innovations in services, public ownership, through B:SM, has made it possible to align the Park with Barcelona’s values and, at the same time, helped to integrate the Park into the everyday lives of our citizens, who see Tibidabo as just another part of the city in which they live.
In the areas of solidarity and education, the Park collaborates with many non-profit organisations (UNICEF, Vozes, Fundació RMyB, etc.) with the aim of making Tibidabo a place that is accessible to all. 2008 saw the launch of educational activities in the fields of science, technology and the environment, a project which offers groups of schoolchildren the opportunity to study complex concepts and to see their practical application aboard the park’s rides. This project received a boost in 2014 with the launch of the Fisidabo programme, in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
In the field of sustainability, highlights includes the now 10-year-old commitment to promoting access to the summit of Collserola, transforming it into a pedestrian area and adding a shuttle bus service. This project culminated with the opening of “Cuca de Llum”, Tibidabo's new “glowworm” funicular railway, which has doubled capacity and cuts the journey time down to four minutes, making it an example of sustainable collective transport on a global scale.
Lastly, the stars of the experiences are the more than 600,000 people who visited the park this year, a figure that is close to the record numbers reached in the years before the pandemic.
Guaranteeing an improved experience is a strategic line of action shared by B:SM and Tibidabo. Some examples include the launch of the Virtual Express (2017), the first park ride to feature virtual reality, and the future free fall which will be opening at the start of 2024.
A day filled with magic
The event to commemorate the 121st anniversary and 20 years of municipal ownership will take place on Saturday 5 November at the Tibidabo Amusement Park. It starts at 10 am and will be attended by the City Councillor for Sarrià – Sant Gervasi and the chair of the amusement park, Albert Batlle. Other guests will include former employees and the Tibiclub families. Throughout the morning, there will be a series of activities such as human castles, a batucada (drum performance), people in period costumes and a commemorative cake from the Escribà patisserie.