The chance of the calendar has wanted that the same week Barcelona be the scene of two very different international events but that put the city back in the spotlight. As was the case some years ago, Mobile’s army of delegates will leave just after several thousand American college students ready to intensely celebrate their six-monthly vacations at the unique Abroadfest, which for the ninth edition turns the Catalan capital into its European headquarters. The ties will coexist for a couple of nights in the city with the youth display (from 19 to 24 years old), which has already sold out tickets for three of the four nights of the festival.
The Abroadfest was invented by former students wanting to celebrate the equator of the course. It has its original version in Miami, and abroad the climate and the Mediterranean atmosphere of Barcelona prevail. For years it has taken root to account for some 10,000 American participants (90%) who have come from various European countries where they carry out their Erasmus or training abroad. The final number of travelers is almost impossible to quantify because many times they take advantage of this break to get together in the Catalan metropolis with their families, or even arrive with classmates from universities throughout the old continent.
Your local trail is easy to follow: on the terraces and restaurants along the coast, on bar and tapas routes through Ciutat Vella and Eixample, and in local nightclubs. However, they are assumed to have a high cultural and purchasing level (such as to study abroad) which implies a notorious economic impact. The organizers estimated 22 million euros in one of the last pre-pandemic editions. Robert Massanet, at the helm of the assembly, underlines that beyond partying, the festival has always promoted an iimmersion “in the city, its culture and gastronomy”, with proposals and experiences that often include their families, he says. The cost per person and day, outside the festival programming, is between 200 and 300 euros, according to his data. At night, many choose the most expensive private clubs.
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The organization’s website promoted this global experience in previous editions, although this time the event has been orchestrated in just three weeks, once the nightlife reopened. “We have directly provided all those registered with health information, accommodation, cultural spaces and restaurants,” he adds, in full race against the clock to receive the participants, who have begun to arrive this Monday, but most will do so on Wednesdaywhen the receiving device will be mounted in the room Sutton. There will be a preparty there that night.
On this occasion, the recommended hotels chosen by many attendees will be the W, the Hilton Diagonal and the Melià Sarrià, plus many Airbnb apartments. The few remaining tickets are for the Sant Jordi Club, on Thursday, while the sellout has already been booked for Friday (same space, until midnight, for 4,000 people) and Saturday (Shöko). The poster includes Tchami, Sam Blacky, Malaa, Acraze, Meduza, R3hab and Nicky Romero, among others, they underline. And the challenge will be that the fun passes with civilityafter many months of calm.