Castellers of Vilafranca make history creating the highest human tower of all time

Barcelona (ACN).- This Friday, history was made in Vilafranca del Penedès as one of the town’s Castells group managed to construct the highest human tower ever built with 10 levels with each level containing 3 participants. The feat took place during the annual festival of Vilafranca during the day of Sant Fèlix with over 10,000 spectators assembling in the town’s 'plaça' to witness this extraordinary event. Over 30 Castell groups competed during the day which experts are stating will go down in history as being the most successful of all time, as many of the groups managed to construct a wide range of towers.

The Vilafranca group has dominated during the past decade and just after completing the tower, which they have attempted 30 times previously without success, the ‘plaça’ erupted and group members began crying with joy and congratulating each other. In order to complete this achievement, the group had practiced extensively and on the day there were over 500 people at the base of the tower to provide support. The group also managed to construct a tower of 9 levels with four members on each as well as one with 8 levels with only 1 person per level. A total of 11 television stations and six radio stations broadcasted the event live.

The best performance of all time

This is only the third time that a Castell group has managed to construct a human tower of 10 levels of 3, the Minyons de Terrasa were able to do so in 1998 and 2002. Friday’s performance of the Castellers of Vilafranca is said to be the best of all time as they managed to complete a wide range of towers. San Fèlix day is the most important event in the Castell calendar and it is very rare for one group to accomplish so much in a single day. The group worked hard to perfect their performance and meets twice weekly throughout the year in order to practice.

Many other Castell groups were also able to form magnificent human towers during the three a half hour display. The Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls group managed to create three impressive towers. Their second was the most dramatic with nine levels of five, known as the ‘super cathedral’. The Colla Vella Xiquets group was also particularly successful as they constructed two towers that they had never previously been able to create, including the ‘pillar’ with 8 levels of 1 person per level.

The spectacular Vilafranca festival

The yearly festival of Vilafranca is one of the largest festivals of Catalonia which takes place between the 29^th of August and 2^nd of September. During the 5 day celebrations there are a range of spectacles on offer including live concerts, parades, street performances, open air feasts and firework displays.

Castells: a 200 year old Catalan tradition

The Catalan tradition of creating human towers has existed for over 200 years and nowadays there are a total of 77 official groups that take compete in the activity. Tournaments usually take place during the summer festivals of Catalan towns and cities and in 2010 the tradition was declared a UNESCO element of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Safety has always been a priority in the creation of the Castells. Two weeks ago a participant sustained a serious injury two weeks following the collapse of a tower. Despite that, it does appear that the activity has become less dangerous in recent years. The medical director of the Coordinadora de Colles Castelleres de Catalunya (the Coordinating Committee of the Human Towers of Catalonia – CCCC) told the CNA that it is safer than ever with only 2.5% of towers collapsing this year. He also revealed plans to create a unique neck protector that will be unveiled in May 2014.