With just a few hours to go before we find out who will win this year’s Champions League final, we look at some of the juiciest trivia surrounding the game at Wembley between FC Barcelona and Manchester United.
‘Barcelona Activa’ is Barcelona City Council’s agency for local development. Its main activities are promoting business and employment creation. ‘Barcelona Activa’ wins the Grand Jury Prize of the 2011 European Enterprise Awards, organised by the European Commission, the European Presidency and the Committee of the Regions.
‘Blue flags’ recognise clean beaches, with quality services, and are awarded at international level by the Foundation for Environmental Education and the United Nations agencies for Tourism and the Environment. In Catalonia 83.42 kilometres of its beaches have been awarded a blue flag.
Staff drain and changes in training programs, the main causes according to the Catalan Nurses Association. In the last years, Catalonia has been “exporting” nurses abroad, mainly to the United Kingdom, the US and Italy.
FC Barcelona travelled to London on Tuesday night, 2 days before the initial schedule because of the volcanic ash cloud. Barça landed on London Stansted at 00.08, already Wednesday, and travelled straight to The Grove Hotel. On Wednesday they will continue to prepare for Saturday’s final at Arsenal’s training facilities.
Barcelona El Prat and Madrid Barajas airports will be run by private operators. The Spanish Government has already started informal contacts with potential private operators. Public competition would begin this summer, would take place in two phases and will end before the end of 2011.
The good results at the municipal elections give the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition ‘Convergència i Unió’ (CiU), running the Government, the support of citizens to carry on with the austerity measures and its plan to reduce public expenditure by 10%. After the Government’s approval, the budget will be discussed at the Catalan Parliament and approved by the end of July. CiU does not want to mix budget negotiations at the Parliament with local agreements after the municipal elections.
Barça’s coach, Pep Guardiola reckons that his team’s hunger for success will be key on Saturday at the Champions League final against Manchester United: “I want them to be conscious of what we are playing for”, he told reporters at the Camp Nou this evening. FC Barcelona travels on Tuesday night to London, due to the volcanic ash cloud.
The MACBA is one of the main European centres for having the work of Matta-Clark. The MACBA Foundation has now received a unique and new collection of Matta-Clark’s work. In 2012, it will hold a temporary exhibition with the work of the American artist, famous for his deconstruction pieces and ‘building cuts’ in the 1970s.
This last weekend Catalonia’s F1 Grand Prix and the Barcelona’s International Automobile Fair were held. These two events emphasise the weight the motoring industry has in Catalonia. Actually, Barcelona Metropolitan Area is one of Europe’s largest motoring industry hubs.
'Convergència i Unió' (CiU) increases its vote share across Catalonia and becomes the leading party in number of votes. The large victory backs the Catalan Government’s controversial austerity measures. The Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council will be run by the same party, CiU. The Catalan Socialist Party loses large cities and 22% of its votes across the country. The People’s Party becomes the third party and wins in Badalona with a discourse focused on illegal immigration. ERC loses around a third of its votes but other pro Catalan independence parties gain support. The xenophobic and extreme right PxC remains marginal but increases its base and enters the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. The turnout was 55%, one point higher than in 2007. The null or spoilt vote multiplied its share by three but remains marginal.
FC Barcelona closed their league season with another away win, coming from behind to beat Malaga 1-3 with goals from Bojan (pen), Afellay and Bartra. Barça's squad was very young, with four players from the B team. The result and the performance will give added confidence ahead of the Champions League Wembley final.
The protests of citizens across Spain asking for a new democracy has completely captured the last few days of the electoral campaign. The Central Electoral Board ordered the protests to stop from Friday midnight, as they coincide with the reflection period and election day. The Spanish Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court are expected to give their verdict this Friday. Protesters decided to resist in a peaceful way, while politicians have asked them to abide by the law and the electoral process, but at the same time have requested understanding the protesters. Authorities and police unions have warned about the risks of removing the people from the squares and it is believed that they will not intervene unless violence occurs.
The hero of Stamford Bridge is going back to London for the Champions League final. After starring in the Rome final and scoring the winner in the World Cup final, Iniesta says that “all I want to do is win. These things don’t happen all the time”.
‘Construmat’ is Spain’s main trade fair for the construction industry and will run until Saturday May 21st. Barcelona’s fair will have a “sister” event in China next year, with Chinese companies but also with those present at the current ‘Construmat’.