One of Barcelona’s classic summer events is back. The Grec festival goes into its 48th edition with a return to its origins. This year’s programme is an inner journey, in search of the essence of this performing arts event and looking back at the history of the theatre. Most of all, the event seeks to celebrate artistic friendships and the alliances formed over the last eight years.

The programme includes big names from the international scene, essential figures in theatre, dance and circus arts: Lola Arias, Angélica Liddell, Christiane Jatahy, Jan Lauwers, Krzysztof Warlikowski, William Forsythe, Johan le Guilhem and Hofesh Schechter will be bringing their projects to the Teatre Lliure, the Mercat de les Flors and the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya.

Artists and companies with strong ties to the Grec also play a prominent part in this year’s programme. Silvia Pérez Cruz will be opening this edition with the project Circular, based on her latest disc, Toda la vida, un dia, offering three days of performances surrounded by artist friends. Other names at this year’s Grec include Antònia Font, Pau Vallvé and Kae Tempest.

The festival extends to more than fifty venues in Barcelona from 26 June to 4 August, with 81 shows and over 51 parallel activities. You’ll find full information and ticket purchasing on the website: festivalgrec.barcelona.

A new issue of the magazine Metròpolis Barcelona has been published with a new look. The magazine has a new design and its content has also been reorganised. Headed by Milagros Pérez Oliva, this quarterly publication will continue to foster calm and collected debate among the public, away from the vertigo of our times.

Issue 130, now available in full online on the website metropolis.barcelona, reflects on the city of five million people, how the metropolis has overwhelmed administrative borders, and calls for a coordinated transformation of public spaces and policies.

In this issue, the urban planner Oriol Nel·lo explains how residential segregation works, the geographer Mireia Belil describes the complex network of cities that make up Europe, and the sociologists Núria Gómez and Sergio Porcel talk about counterurbanisation, the migration from the city to the rural environment. There is also an interview with the journalist Francesc Escribano and a reflection on suburbanisation from the planning expert Margaret Crawford.

The magazine can also be downloaded in pdf format, purchased as a hard copy from the Sala Ciutat, or received directly by email by signing up for its newsletter.

Representatives from the .barcelona domain played an active role in the ICANN Contracted Parties meeting in Paris from 6 to 8 May. The event brought together domains, registration companies and groups of interest for the industry to address important topics for domains at a global level.

During the meeting we were able to meet with other geographical and city domains. We also played an active part in the various discussion sessions centring on important matters for the domain community, such as the NIS2 European regulation and the abuse of DNS. The NIS2 is an important regulation affecting cybersecurity at a European level and will come into force in October this year. On a separate note, DNS abuse, such as the improper use of domains for malicious activities, are a habitual concern for registration companies and we have been working for years to establish protocols that enable cases of abuse to be identified and eradicated quickly.

The presence and active participation of the .barcelona domain at this meeting demonstrates our commitment to the ongoing improvement of the domain industry and the defence of the interests of the digital community.

Barcelona is preparing a new edition of the eShow, to be held on 13 and 14 May. The annual event is the leading fair in e-commerce and digital marketing, bringing together professionals from the e-commerce sector, digital marketing, big data and AI.

The .barcelona domain will be represented at a joint stand with the .cat domain and the registration company Don Dominio. In addition, all those who drop in and see us will be offered a special promotion: a .barcelona domain with free hosting for a whole year. Through this promotion, we want to help local companies and start-ups to boost their business in the digital environment.

We’ll be delighted to share our new .barcelona domain image with everybody at the fair and address your doubts and queries relating to the domain. See you at the eShow Barcelona!

eShow Barcelona 2024
13 and 14 May
Fira de Barcelona

The registration period is now open for the Challenge Barcelona Triathlon, the leading competition set to be held on 3 November. The finest athletes will again be battling it out in a combination of athletics, cycling and swimming around the city’s streets and beaches.

One of the main new aspects to this year’s event is the opening up of 80 places for amateur athletes over the Short distance. Those wishing to sign up for the triathlon.barcelona over this distance must meet two fundamental requisites: to be federated in the triathlon and to accept and satisfy the cut-off time and the established regulations for this distance.

As with last year’s edition, the event again offers an option for youngsters: teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 will be able to compete over the Super Sprint distance, the goal being to promote the competition with maximum safety.

The categories can be found on the website triathlon.barcelona and are as follows:

• Short: 1,500 metres of swimming (2 laps), 56 km of cycling (5 laps) and 15 km of running (3 laps).
• Olympic: 1,500 metres of swimming (1 lap), 40 km of cycling (4 laps) and 10 km of running (2 laps).
• Sprint: 750 metres of swimming (1 lap), 20 km of cycling (2 laps) and 5 km of running (1 lap).
• Junior Challenge: 300 metres of swimming (1 lap), 9 km of cycling (1 lap) and 1.5 km of running (1 lap).
• Aquatló: 750 metres of swimming (1 lap), 5 km of running (1 lap).

On your marks, get set, go!

One of the most cherished celebrations among the people of Barcelona is here. The city will be decked out for Sant Jordi on 23 April, with roses, books and lots of culture. As ever, you’ll find full information on the Sant Jordi website.

Sant Jordi 2024 gets under way with the Opening Speech on Reading on 22 April, to be read by the British writer and actor David Walliams and held for the first time at the Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria.

You can now enjoy the Sant Jordi Dialogues around the city’s libraries, with writers from different places engaging in conversation based on affinities in their latest works and meeting their readers.

There’s an open day at the City Hall on Sunday, 21 April, from 10 am to 8 pm. Admission is free and open to everybody (limited capacity), offering a chance to visit the Escala Negra, the Saló de Cròniques, the Sala Tàpies, the Mirador M. Aurèlia Capmany and many other corners of the building.

There will also be a large block in the heart of L’Eixample closed to traffic on 23 April, located between Av. Diagonal, Gran Via and the streets of Balmes and Pau Claris, and extending along La Rambla and Gran de Gràcia. As ever, all districts will have spaces set aside for the sale of books and roses, plus various activities such as storytelling, puppetry, literary competitions and workshops.

Enjoy the occasion!

The future of sustainable mobility has arrived in Barcelona. The city now has 1,000 recharging points, powered by 100% renewable energy. The network is used by 3,300 citizens and provides an average of 14,000 recharges a month, making it the largest public network in Spain and southern Europe.

This was possible thanks to an investment of 25 million euros through Europe’s Next Generation funds. Endolla Barcelona is anticipating the future growth in demand with the goal of reaching 3,000 recharging points in the next few years, increasing power output and halving recharging times.

This year will also see the network install battery exchange facilities for electric mopeds in BSM car parks, offering ready-charged batteries for users and making urban mobility easier and more sustainable.

The endolla.barcelona website offers full information: how to register as a user, current pricing and the recharging points available around the city. You can also keep up to date by signing up for the newsletter.