Over 20,000 people visit the Sagrada Família on its first doors-open day

Barcelona (CNA) .- The long queues outside the Sagrada Família on Saturday  brought the total number of visitors to 20,000. It is a great success for the first of the 4 open days that are planned for this January. Marc Martín, the head of security for the Sagrada Família told CNA that everything went smoothly and no incidents were recorded during the 5 hours that entry to the largest Catholic church in Barcelona was free of charge. He said that the flow of visitors was steady in the morning with an average of 4,000 visitors per hour. Another noteworthy factor was the large presence of Catalan visitors at the open-days, all eager to see the final result with their own eyes.

The consecration of the Sagrada Família by Pope Benedict XVI was a key event for many local Catalans and people from Catalan-speaking areas. The event was broadcasted live on television. This Saturday, those who were intrigued by that previous event were encouraged to visit the architectural monument during the open days.  There will be an open day on every Saturday of this month of January, ie, on the 15^th,22^th and 29^th. Doors open at nine o'clock in the morning and close at two o'clock in the afternoon. For the moment, the organisers have no plans to extend the timetable but will review the situation at the end of the month.

With regard to today's success, the head of security Mark Martin said that the good weather was a determinable factor for the high numbers of visitors. As well as that many people, who were already in town for the winter sales took advantage of that to visit the open days. Another incentive was that the entry was free and the price is usually €12.5.