World's largest LGBT party festival kicks off in Barcelona, with 72,000 expected to attend

Barcelona (ACN).- Between the 5^th and 16^th August, Barcelona will once again become the world's LGBT capital. For the 8th consecutive year, the Catalan capital and its metropolitan area will play host to the Circuit Festival, which comprises a wide range of parties, concerts, sports events and other leisure activities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual people. The organisers expect more than 72,000 to attend this year, with 80% of them being foreigners. The average attendee is a gay male aged between 25-40, with higher education, spending 250 euros per day and staying 8.4 days in the Catalan capital. However, the organisers also stress that many women and people of many other age, education and income groups are also coming to enjoy the festival and the manifold targeted activities. Tickets can vary from €20 to €460. Organisers also stress that for the many attendees from countries where homosexuality is banned or even criminally prosecuted, this party is a great opportunity to not have to hide their feelings, meet new people and feel liberated. In addition, they estimate that this year’s LGBT festival will bring €150 million to the local economy, making the event great for business, too.

Indeed, the festival is one of Barcelona's most important and most international events in terms of number of attendees and economic impact, although it is still way behind the city's jewel, which is the Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest cell-phone related industry event that takes place in the Catalan capital each year. The latest edition of the Congress attracted some 94,000 visitors – many of them corporate executives – and had a €436 million economic impact.

23 parties and 30 other activities in 12 days

This year's Circuit Festival programme includes 23 parties, 60 artists and more than 30 other activities related to culture, sports and LGBT activism spread over 12 days, between the 5^th and 16^th of August. The Water Park Day is the most famous daytime activity and each year brings together 8,000 people; in the 2015 edition it will take place on 11 August at L'Illa Fantasia water park in Vilassar de Dalt, in Greater Barcelona.

This year, a second part in Ibiza and next year, further cities to be added to the list

All this makes the Circuit Festival, which is organised by the Matinée Group, the longest and most crowded gay event in the world. Once the party is over in Barcelona, the festival will then have a second part in Ibiza, between the 19^th and 23^rd of August, with about 25,000 people due to attend. In fact, the organisers feel that the festival can continue to grow and are planning to enlarge it further by launching smaller editions in other cities, while maintaining the annual meeting in Barcelona as the Circuit's main event. The cities chosen to host these Circuit mini-festivals next year should be announced soon.