Festival season in Catalonia ends with high ticket sales

Summer in Catalonia is synonymous with music, sun, friends, and fall 2018 brought to a close yet another successful festival season, with events outperforming their ticket sales or at least matching them, compared to the previous year.

Summer began with the Festival Jardin de Pedralbes, named for its beautiful venue in Barcelona which, throughout the month of June and early July, hosted the likes of Tom Jones, the Fleet Foxes, and even the Jacksons and sold 60,000 tickets.

The month of June ended into July with the hidden gem Vida Festival, in a country manor just off the beach and a short train ride from Barcelona, with affordable prices to see names like Franz Ferdinand, Iron & Wine, Calexico, they Might Be Giants, and more, which this year sold 33,500 tickets.

Then, the Festival Castell de Peralada, which brings classical music, opera, dance, and pop to a medieval stronghold in the north of Catalonia; this year it sold 26,500  tickets for an average 92% concert attendance, and ran from early July until mid-August with names like Carla Bruni, Plácido Domingo, Jonas Kaufmann, and Santana.

Also in the north is Portaferrada Festival, which not only brought names like Jack Johnson, and Ricky Martin but also offered sushi to an audience of 41,000 concert-goers from early July until mid-August.

The up and coming mega festival Crüilla, second in size and seniority only to behemoths Sónar and Primavera Sound, sold 57,000 tickets in mid-July, with a lineup featuring Jack White, Prophets of Rage, N.E.R.D, Kygo, Justice, The Roots, and more, performing by the beach in Barcelona, and doing its eco-friendly part by using 100% biodegradable cups for the first year.

Cap Roig, having sold out to 43,000 tickets, was hosted at a more remote venue on the picturesque Costa Brava, with a program starting in mid-July until the end of August, including Sting, Bryan Ferry, Jarabe de Palo, Andrea Bocelli, Luis Miguel, Maná, Juanes, and more.

Also promising to be a big player on the festival scene is Tomorrowland United, the little sibling of the Belgian electronic music festival, which this year sold out to the tune of 20,000 tickets (following last year’s evacuation due to technical fire), for a lineup including Yves V and Steve Aoki.