After the long pandemic hiatus and with its future still up in the air, the Primavera Sound festival has opened its doors in an edition extended to two weeks to compensate for the break of the last two years. With more than 65,000 attendees on the first day According to the organization, it can already be considered that, from the point of view of attracting the public, the return of the Primavera has been a clear success, in line with the recovered influx of visitors to Barcelona that has been characterizing the preliminary stages for a few weeks now. of the summer.
In the early stages of the festival the massive return of the public overwhelmed some of the services (bars, water distribution points and sinks) that seemed not to be adjusted to the recovered dimensions of the Primavera. The immediate reaction promised by the organization to solve the problems detected should serve so that the final balance is marked, in addition to the satisfaction of the assembled lineup of artists, more because of the euphoria of returning to normality than because of the inconveniences associated with this massive reopening. And also to ascertain whether the extra dimension of the festival in a duplicate format is manageable for the organization and for the city –and if, therefore, the municipal refusal to consolidate the two-week format as demanded by Primavera means an unnecessary renunciation of a model of success or prudent foresight.
An enormous mural, with a kiss between the mayors of Barcelona and the president of the Community of Madrid, announces in the Forum area the bicephalous condition that the festival will have in 2023. A weekend in its usual location in Barcelona and another in Madrid. After tensions between promoters and Barcelona City Council, the provisional solution chosen for next year predicts a transitional edition. The municipal elections will clarify who is the definitive interlocutor on the institutional side of the table and the results of the sessions that take place in the chosen location on the outskirts of Madrid will show to what extent they represent a real alternative that leads to consolidating the model identified in the mural in question with the motto Barcelona + Madrid = Primavera Sound, or even to justify a total emigration with weapons and baggage. Or if this latent threat ends up being a pressure maneuver without a path.
Faced with this dilemma, Barcelona cannot run the risk of losing the Primavera. In the midst of the debate on the sustainable tourism model for Barcelona, the profile of the public attracted by a music festival of this magnitude is one of those that cannot and should not be given up, due to its economic contribution to the tourism sector and its contribution to the image of the city as an international, young and dynamic metropolis in full swing with the thriving offer of the Spanish capital.
The final result of the game is still up in the air, as the festival’s co-director pointed out when opening this year’s edition with a new complaint: “The problem with Barcelona is that it doesn’t love us.” The offer made by the city to the festival must make it clear that, if there is any problem, it should not be this one. And that the contract to keep Primavera in Barcelona for at least four years It should not take for granted that the relationship with the city is “inseparable” but rather establish the appropriate conditions so that, for the benefit of both parties, it continues to be so.