25,000 to attend Cruïlla music festival in Barcelona subject to daily testing

The iconic music festival, Cruïlla, returns this year to Barcelona’s Parc del Fòrum, expecting to welcome around 25,000 attendees each day in a fashion that will look not too dissimilar to pre-pandemic times. This would make it the first mass-event of its kind to take place in Europe since the outbreak of Covid-19.

In order to enter, all attendees will need a negative antigen test for every day of the festival and a FFP2 face mask which will have to be worn at all times apart from when eating and drinking. Aside from this, however, there will be no social distancing and no other pandemic-controlling measures in place at the event. 

This comes after the success of March’s pilot test concert partly organised by Cruïlla’s directors, when a crowd of 5,000 attended a Love of Lesbian gig indoors and without social distancing, only needing a negative antigen test and facemask to enter. One month on, scientists concluded that there was no evidence of Covid-19 transmission at the event.

Unlike at the Love of Lesbian concert, when the price of the antigen test was included in the ticket, Cruïlla’s crowds will have to cover at least some of the cost of the screenings. Those attending one day will pay €8.50, two days, €12 and the full three days, €15. 

The tests will be conducted off-sight at the nearby Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB), with slots available from 3pm to 10pm. People will be unable to access the Parc de Fòrum Venue if they receive a positive test result, if they live with a ticket-holder who has a positive result, if they have a temperature over 37 degrees, or if they are in quarantine. 

Full refunds will, however, be distributed if one of these situations is to occur. Even people who can prove that they are fully vaccinated will equally have to present negative antigen tests on arrival.

Crüilla 2021 line-up 

Due to the health crisis and potential restrictions on travel, this year there is emphasis on local Catalan and Spanish acts, such as Izal, La Casa Azul, Carolina Durante, Amaral, Dorian, Kase.0, Manel, Sopa de Cabra and Delafé all due to perform. 

Despite this, however, the festival also promises to host some international acts such as Editors, Two Door Cinema Club, Morcheeba and Tom Walker. 

On this issue, Cruïlla director Jordi Herreruela commented that they are “aware of the difficulties currently on the table”, and have thus “very deliberately” chosen artists that can perform in Barcelona and are not subject to a tour with “dozens of dates”.