Primavera Sound 2023 | The banished from the Barcelona festivals: “We are leaving home because the noise is unbearable”

Primavera Sound, with tens of thousands of assistants per day until Sunday, you are authorized for the performances last until 5.30 in the morning. the cocktail of massification and music until the rays of the sun tense again the limits between leisure and rest in the capital. The dilemma -increasingly alive- reveals the difficult fit between events crowds and inhabited nuclei close to the spaces that house them, as occurs in the vicinity of the Fòrum and Montjuic. The malaise that has been brewing for years has surfaced with more intensity after the stagnation of the pandemic. It is the same discomfort that pushes neighborhood groups to urge them to seek land deserts around Barcelona to outsource shows large format.

Now there is a problem accumulation absolute in the Fòrum and Montjuïc. should make a study so as not to move it to another inhabited area& rdquor ;, points out Miquel Prats, spokesman for the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona (favb). “We have found a possible location away from households. We want to show the plan to the future government of Barcelona& rdquor;, comments Navarro, who points out the rumor that the street enters your floor. It comes from the viewers that swarm towards the stages before the groups start playing “Imagine hearing it at four in the morning… Generate stress, state of nerves, an inadequate mental and psychological state… It is a problem of health& rdquor ;, resolve.

Run away from festivals

There are neighbors who put land in the middle when the festivals take over the Fòrum. According to a balance of the municipal company BSMthe park hosts 18 events during 44 days this 2023. There are two more appointments than in 2022 and five more than in 2019. The venue will remain busy three days less than last year, but eight more than the season before the covid cancel the schedule. The events Large format musicals will take over the esplanade for 35 days, two more than in 2022 and one week more than in 2019. “So much concentration leads to the fact that, because they live where they live, there are neighbors who know that they will not be able to rest and will have to look for alternatives. If it were four days, they can be sacrificed, but it is repeated several times in four months. generates a grievance& rdquor ;, warns Prats.

“I’ve swallowed all the Fòrum festivals, but this time I’m going away until Sunday,” confesses Navarro. “I will take the opportunity not to hear the noise, which is unbearable. We pay one of the IBI most expensive in the city and we have no compensation. We don’t want to be the discotheque of Europe & rdquor ;, ditch. He is not the only neighbor who flees in order not to deprive himself of dream. Maribel escapes for the first time from Primavera this week. “It’s too much annoying. Then there are those who pass by drunk and shouting all the time & rdquor ;, she refers.

A similar case occurs in Montjuïc, the other great container for events in Barcelona. “We are surrounded by more than 100 events a year,” recounts Jordi Andolz, a member of the Platform for People Affected by Noise Pollution (PACAME). He witnesses that he prepares to leave during the Dreamtwo weeks from now: “It won’t let me telework. I put on headphones, close windows and blinds… Even so, my clients hear the music& rdquor;.

Others are resigned to not sleep a wink. “Hopefully, we will be able to go to sleep at half past four in the morning,” calculates Mari Carmen, a resident of Diagonal Mar, annoyed with the vibrations: “Everything moves. The first year I called the Fire Department. The chair went from left to right, the plants moved… I thought it made me dizzy & rdquor ;. “It seems like they hit you on the head,” protests Antonio, who does not see it as feasible to leave to escape the soiree: “Once I did, but my house is far away, in Murcia”. “We are a neighborhood of workers, those who support Barcelona. When we need to rest, they deprive us of sleep, the beach and security,” reproaches the president of the Maresme Neighborhood Association, José Manuel López.

On the verge of 70 decibels

According to data of the Barcelona City Council, the noise pollution sensor located at the confluence in front of the Fòrum fluctuated between 60 and close to 70 decibels for a good part of Friday morning. The acoustic capacity maps indicate that, at this intersection, 55 decibels must not be exceeded between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

In any case, the consistory, which installs controllers of sound inside and outside the venue, certifies that Primavera Sound meets the standards. The district councilor of Sant MartiDavid Escudé, highlights the effect that limiting hours to terraces and bars has had, as well as to supermarkets so as not to supply alcohol to large bottles. “In the early hours of Friday, no people gathered on the Rambla Prim & rdquor ;, highlights the mayor, who proposes maintaining the restrictions to the business in upcoming festivals at the Fòrum.

Related news

Escudé defends that the concerts in the area “are being reduced and will be reduced& rdquor ;. In any case, the first thing to do is determine who will govern Barcelona before checking if they are reduced in number. The nomination of the winner of the municipal, Xavier Trias, is committed to “deconcentrating& rdquor; of activities in the Forum and transfer them to “other locations in the city& rdquor ;.

In any case, skepticism spreads in the neighborhood movement. “The advances have been little. There have been drops of two or three decibels in stressed areas, which are welcome, but few. We fear that these achievements are reversed & rdquor ;, warns Prats. “A respectable city council should never come to the point where the right to leisure takes precedence over the right to rest. The benefit of the business of a few is paid by many with their health,” concludes Andolz.