barcelona city

Barcelona offers 'Torre Agbar' for new European Medicines Agency headquarters

April 24, 2017 10:42 PM | ACN

The Torre de Glòries, an emblematic modern tower widely known as the “Torre Agbar”, with its 33.000 square meters and distinguished design by Jean Novel, is Barcelona's candidate for the new location for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) headquarters. The decision was made last Friday by the representatives of the City of Barcelona, the Government of Catalonia, and the Spanish government. The Mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau, the Spanish Minister of Healthcare, Dolors Montserrat, and the Catalan Minister of Health, Antoni Comín had already agreed to join forces for the promotion of the Catalan capital’s candidacy in an earlier meeting two weeks ago.

Barcelona drops bid to host 2026 Winter Olympics

March 16, 2017 06:43 PM | ACN

Barcelona – The Pyrenees-based candidacy to host the 2026 Winter Olympics has been rescinded by its own promoters. According to Barcelona’s deputy mayor, Jordi Collboni, the decision responded “to the current social and economic circumstances not only in Barcelona but in the whole country”. Collboni also emphasized Barcelona’s image as an Olympic city, won in 1992, and rejected any eventual “false move” which might affect its good reputation. “If we submit an application, we want it to be the winning option,” he said and admitted that in order for that to be true the candidacy “must have full political and social support”. The conclusions emerged from the committee responsible for analysing the candidacy, backed by the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’, Left wing pro-independence ERC and the Democratic Group.

 

Barcelona to invest €4.5 million in renovating Park Güell

December 5, 2016 07:38 PM | ACN

Barcelona City Council will allocate almost €4.5 million for the maintenance, restoration and enhancement of the architectural heritage of Antoni Gaudí’s famous Park Güell and its surroundings. This investment comes from the fee charged to enter the park, but also partly from the city tourist tax, Barcelona Councillor for Architecture Daniel Mòdol stated. Since October 2013, tourists visiting the spot have had to pay an entrance fee. The Councillor of Gràcia District in Barcelona, Eloi Badia, explained that the remodelling aims at controlling the influx of visitors and recovering the daily life of the neighbourhood as well as the cultural and commercial activity of the area. According to Badia, many neighbours believe that they have to pay to enter the enclosure, but locals are not charged. “We want neighbours to understand that they can access [the park] for free, and we want to recover the cultural and daily activities”, he stressed.