53rd Barcelona Jazz Festival kicks off with full capacity crowds

Maria del Mar Bonet kicked off the 53rd Barcelona Jazz Festival with a concert at the Palau de la Música alongside the Begues Big Band. 

Fans, artists, and organizers are celebrating the fact that cultural events can now host full-capacity crowds since the Covid-19 restrictions were loosened last week. 

Many arts venues welcomed the news of capacity crowds with special discounted tickets of just €10.

The Barcelona Jazz Festival is a staple of the cultural calendar in the Catalan capital, and will host dozens of performances from now until next January, with one additional show in March. 

Under the direction of Toni Cuenca, Catalan signer-songwriter Maria del Mar Bonet took to the stage gave a performance filled with jazz, swing and Mediterranean sounds alongside 18 other musicians. 

Bonet called it "a beautiful night” that could welcome full capacity crowds one again after only reduced capacity audiences were able to enjoy cultural spectacles for so long throughout the pandemic. 

The artist believes a very difficult period with so many days of blackness is soon coming to an end. 

“Being able to open the jazz festival in the Palau de la Música gives us moments of joy,” she added, adding she has "many good memories" of shows she has seen in the art nouveau building since she was 18 years old. 

Tito Ramoneda, director of the Barcelona Jazz Festival, explained to the Catalan News Agency the festival organizers are happy to see that they are on the path to normality and emphasized that fans can be sure the Jazz Festival is a safe event.

He is delighted to see 100% capacity audiences back, but added that there are still many tickets that could not be put on sale and that are 'hung' between groups that bought more than 'one'. Ramoneda explained that it is more difficult to sell these individual tickets.