barcelona

Daniel Kahl, a German Barça fan, was not allowed to enter the stadium at the Copa del Rey final for carrying the ‘Estelada’

The Canadians will play again on Saturday night after their unexpected performance on a small stage on the first day of the festival

Catalan Minister Josep Rull calls for "excellent rail infrastructure" to boost the productivity of the Mediterranean ports

The low-cost airline also serves Buenos Aires, San Francisco and Punta Cana and will offer new destinations soon

Up to 222,581 people are living below poverty limits, almost nine time mores than in 2008

Taxis in Barcelona are on strike to protest online platforms such as Uber or Cabify, which they consider to be unfair competition. Commuters and tourists at Sants, Barcelona’s main train station, or El Prat, the city airport, had to face long queues to take the bus or alternative transport methods because the taxi stands were completely empty. The strike, which started at 6am on Tuesday, will last for 24 hours. Up to 20,000 taxi drivers are expected to take to the streets in a big rally in Madrid, with more than 2,500 drivers from the Barcelona’s Metropolitan also attending. Taxi driver unions are threatening with more mobilizations on the 29th of June and are weighing the possibility of an indefinite strike starting on July 31st, just at the peak of the holiday period. They think their demands are being ignored by the government and that online platforms such as Uber are “destroying” their business.

The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, called all political parties in favor of an independence referendum to a meeting on Monday “to analyze Mariano Rajoy’s negative answer” to Catalonia’s request for a negotiated vote, sources from the government said. “We are not planning to decide the date and question for the referendum,” the same sources confirmed, after members of the radical left CUP urged the Government to confirm when the referendum will take place. However, the same sources admitted that they might discuss it if “one of the participants” of the meeting “puts the issue on the table”. Governing party Junts pel Sí and radical-left CUP will take part in the summit, as well as Podem Catalunya, the Catalan branch of Podemos. However, Catalunya en Comú, the party of Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau, has so far rejected the invitation, arguing that any debates on the referendum should be held in the cross-party National Pact for the Referendum forum, and not in a government-led meeting.

FC Barcelona claimed the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 win over Alavés at the Vicente Calderón, becoming the first side since the 1950s to win the trophy three years in a row. In a hotly-contested affair, the class of Leo Messi stood out as he scored a fine opener as well as setting up the third goal for Paco Alcácer just after Neymar regained the lead for Barça. It was a scrappy start without any clear goalscoring chances for either side, with the Alavés defence standing firm to Barça intricate passing in the final third.

The Dutch architecture studios NL architects and XVW architectuur, received the EU Mies Award 2017 (Contemporary Architecture prize of the European Union – Mies van der Rohe) on Friday in Barcelona for the rehabilitation of a big apartment building in Amsterdam. According to the jury, this year’s edition communicates two important messages: First, modern architecture has to fulfill citizens’ needs, and second, citizens participation in urban projects is essential for solving urban challenges. In an interview with the CNA, representatives from both of the prizewinning studios, Kamiel Klaassen (NL) and Xander Vermeulen Windsant (XVW), commented about the “incredible richness and variety” of Barcelona’s architecture and praised the potential of the city’s structure for future urban development.

The high speed railway line that connects Girona to Barcelona registered 1.01 million travelers throughout 2016. That is the same volume of passengers that went from Catalonia’s capital city to Tarragona over the last nine years according to statistics provided by Renfe, the Spanish train operator. Barcelona is not only connected to Girona and Tarragona; Avant trains also travel to Lleida. This route has also been a great success in 2016, used by 4.03 million passengers. Altogether 10.7 million people have traveled from the four Catalan provincial capitals since 2008. 2016 was the most successful year with 2.05 million travelers.

Catalonia shows commitment to fight climate change. Coinciding with the inauguration of the Barcelona ‘Innovate4Climate’ conference, the Catalan Minister of Territory and Sustainability, Josep Rull, confirmed on Wednesday that the Catalan Parliament will approve a law before summer to fight climate change. In declarations to the press after opening the conference, the minister highlighted that this law “will be the first one in this field in the south of Europe” and that the Catalan government’s aim is to guarantee a "minimum impact" of climate change on people and the environment. Rull also highlighted that it is an "ethical commitment" for companies and administrations to fight climate change, and stressed that is also actually a “profitable business”.

Barcelona and London, the capital cities of Catalonia and the United Kingdom, suffered sustained bombardments by fascist air forces during the first half of the 20th century. Coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the aerial bombing of Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat) together with the European Observatory on Memories (Eurom) and in collaboration with the University of Brighton organized a conference at London’s Imperial War Museum to share Catalonia and United Kingdom’s history under the fascist bombs. The commemorative event gathered together representatives from the Catalan Government, mayors of some of the cities who suffered the most under the fascist aviation attacks, British politicians, such as Chris Bambery, former spokesman for the APPG on Catalonia, and researchers and historians from both the UK and Catalonia specialized in the Great World Wars.

The 39th edition of the Automobile Barcelona show closed its doors with a record figure of more than 755,000 visitors, about 5,000 more than in the past edition in 2015. Sales agreements increased 15% compared to the last edition, reaching almost 80,000 vehicles sold. “This year’s edition has marked a before and after for automobile shows worldwide,” stated the chairman of Automobile Barcelona, Enrique Lacalle. “We have invented the automobile show of the future, introducing a new format and a new philosophy of trade shows that have been well received by the public and the sector professionals. And this has significantly increased the number of visitors and sales,” Lacalle added. The chairman also informed that 47% of the visitors who came to buy a car, showed interest in the “connected car” innovation.

The Barcelona street art scene has been active for 30 years. Thanks to its diversity Barcelona street art distinguishes itself from other cities around the world. During recent years street art has become more popular, which has resulted in more art on the streets, a commercial focus and more legal walls around town. According to the street artist Debens, it was hard for artists in the 90s to find places to make street art because of strict conditions. But such authority also had a positive impact on the street artists in the beginning since it produced a “rebel spirit that is very important for them to create”, Debens states. 

FC Barcelona rallied back from two goals down to defeat Eibar 4-2 on the final day of the league campaign, but it was not enough to claim the title. Luis Enrique's men men dug deep for their manager on what was his final league game and got the three points, though Real Madrid’s 2-0 win at Málaga ultimately sees the title go the way of the side from the Spanish capital. It was not the fairytale ending Luis Enrique would have wished for on his last league game but the players showed their commitment to the cause with a rallying display, and his tenure could still end with silverware after next Saturday’s Copa del Rey final.