The sonar festival It has taken stock this Saturday of its 29th edition -the last two in a reduced format forced by the pandemic-, which will conclude at dawn on Sunday, and the data is spectacular. More than 122,000 spectators have attended the musical and digital creativity event. Specifically, 43,000 in the three days of Sónar during the day and 79,000 in the two days of Sónar at night.
It is the second best number of attendees in the history of the festival: the historical figure of 2018 could not be bettered, in which 128,000 spectators were reached, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the exhibition. The return to normality has produced a successful balance for the event, which has had a 30% foreign public (attendees from 122 countries), in which local talent has played a fundamental role. It should be noted that the proportion of attendance at Sónar has for years been 55%-45% in favor of the local public, which, however, in this edition has shot up to 70%. Ricard Robles, one of the co-directors of Sónar, has pointed out that the data is indicative of the “real commitment that the festival has with the territory and the city”. In the recent Primavera Sound the attendance of foreigners climbed up to 65%.
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A significant figure was recorded on Friday night, with the performance of C. Tangana from Madrid as a great attraction. The festival had the second ‘sold out’ in its history with 34,000 attendees at the Fira de L’Hospitalet. “It has been a challenge to fit this concert technically”, has applauded Enric Palau, one of the four directors (along with Sergi Caballero, Ventura Barba and the aforementioned Robles) of the event, at the balance press conference held at the afternoon this Saturday. Another of the concerts that the direction has highlighted has been that of the Barcelonan Rojuu (19 years old), for what it means of change -and attractiveness- for the new generations.
“We are close to recovering all our vitality after these two years of the pandemic, and we will reach our 30th anniversary in 2023 in top form,” Robles said. “We celebrate rooting in the city,” he added. The organization of the advanced music event has also reported the dates of the next edition in which it will be three decades old. It will be on June 15, 16 and 17, 2023.