most festival

The 18th Global Mobile Awards recognize Samsung’s Galaxy S III and Google’s Android and Nexus 7

February 27, 2013 07:21 PM | Karina Reinhard

This week the GSMA Mobile World Congress is in full swing in Barcelona. From the 25th to the 28th of February the MWC has opened its gates to more than 70,000 participants. On Tuesday, the 18th edition of Global Mobile Awards took place in the Catalan capital. The Android system and software was acclaimed for its role in the current mobile technology and in this regard the Samsung Galaxy S III won best Smartphone and Nexus 7 the best Tablet. 32 prices in six different categories were awarded to advances in mobile technology of several companies.

Figueres, International Circus Capital

February 27, 2013 06:31 PM | Carla Marchesi

The magic of circus descended on Figueres last week. Over a long weekend, this town in northern Catalonia, close to the French border and the Costa Brava, hosted the second edition of the International Circus Festival. The event is unique due to its global visibility and the performances of artists belonging to the international circus elite, who have never been seen before in Western Europe. The Festival is a special experience for spectators, but also represents a professional chance for artists to become known, as they compete before a jury formed by key personalities in the field, such as Line Giason, the Casting Director of Cirque du Soleil. This year’s winners were Jinan Acrobatics Troupe from China and Troupe Yakov Ekk from Russia.

Animac, the International Animated Movie Exhibition of Catalonia, is ready to roll

February 26, 2013 07:20 PM | CNA / Ana Macías

The 17th edition of the International Animated Movie Exhibition of Catalonia, Animac, will take place once again in the Catalan city of Lleida, in western Catalonia. From the 28th of February to the 3rd of March, Lleida will become the capital city of international animated cinema once again, playing host to a large number of conferences, presentations, workshops and related activities about this entertainment industry. The exhibition’s program was announced in Barcelona at the CCCB, where the documentary maker Hanna Heilborn was invited to talk about her anti-slavery work ‘Slavar’. More than one hundred movies will be shown over five days in Lleida’s Animac.

Barcelona hosts the world’s main event of the mobile industry this week

February 25, 2013 11:07 PM | CNA

The GSMA Mobile World Congress, the main international trade fair and congress for cell-phone-related industries, is being held in the Catalan capital from Monday the 25th of February until Thursday the 28th. 70,000 attendees, half of which are senior executives from 200 different countries, are coming to Barcelona to develop new business opportunities and discover the sector’s novelties. With 94,000 square metres of exhibition space, 1,500 participating companies and 300 speakers, the 2013 MWC will break all previous records, and it will be the 8th consecutive year it has been organised in Barcelona. In addition, Barcelona will unveil its new Mobile World Hub by June, aiming to become the world capital of the mobile industries in its own right.

The Mobile World Hub is to open its doors in June in Barcelona’s technological district 22@

February 20, 2013 10:44 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The platform, which is aiming to become one of the world’s main hubs for companies working within the mobile and cell phone-related industry, will start its activities in the Catalan capital in June. The Mobile World Hub aims “to transform Barcelona and Catalonia into the best mobile framework” to enhance entrepreneurship, develop business projects, attract talent, create knowledge and become one of the main world centres of the mobile industry. In addition, it will also work to make of Barcelona an international lighthouse hosting the regulation and standardization bodies for the mobile industry. The Mobile World Hub will be located in the MediaTIC Building, a high-tech venue in the Catalan capital’s Poblenou neighbourhood. The announcement comes five days before the Mobile World Congress kicks off.

Barcelona unveils a new permanent platform for mobile technologies, the Mobile World Centre

February 14, 2013 11:30 PM | CNA

Barcelona plays host each year to the world’s largest cell phone-related technology event, the Mobile World Congress, and the Catalan city is becoming an international hub in this field, concentrating several platforms, business initiatives and cultural projects. In fact, Barcelona was declared the Mobile World Capital, in order to act as a global meeting point and platform for mobile related industry. The Mobile World Centre was unveiled on Thursday in Catalunya Square, in the heart of the city, and will become a permanent lighthouse for mobile technology. It will display human stories of how this technology can help in everyday life, explaining the latest developments and also the history of this industry.

Sitges celebrates Carnival in style with colourful and wild parades

February 13, 2013 09:15 PM | Carlota Guerra

The Sitges Carnival is one of the best-known in Spain. Its spectacular nature, alongside with the crowded parades and the dedication of the entire city to this festival, make thousands of tourists and people from all over Catalonia visit the city and enjoy its Carnival. For a week, the whole town dresses up and organises activities that include parades, parties, races or balls, where adults and children have fun together. This year, more than 300,000 people joined the villagers in the celebration of Sitges’ most important holiday.

Catalan film director Neus Ballús presents ‘La Plaga’ at the Berlin International Film Festival

February 13, 2013 07:25 PM | CNA / Karina Reinhard

The 63rd International Film Festival in Berlin is taking place at the moment through to the 17th of February. This year a film made by Catalan production company El Kinògraf is on show: ‘La Plaga’ (‘The Plague’ in English), a film shot by Neus Ballús, had its world premiere in Berlin. It is a combination of reality and fiction, presenting five different characters living around Barcelona at the time of the economic crisis. Ballús explains that the film is based on true life stories, real emotions, situations and genuine characters.

Barcelona’s Sónar music festival goes to Montjuic and abandons the city centre

February 12, 2013 11:24 PM | CNA / Pau Cortina

The 20th event of the most important electronic music festival in Southern Europe has been announced, unveiling new names in its line-up and announcing a change in location. For the first time, the morning and afternoon sessions of Sónar Barcelona will not be held in the CCCB and MACBA art centres – located in the Raval neighbourhood – but they will be moved to the Fira de Barcelona pavilions next to the Montjuic hill. Besides the already-confirmed Pet Shop Boys and Kraftwerk, other names have been added to the festival’s line-up: Justice, Jamie Lidell, Laurent Garnier, Soulwax, Seth Troxler, Diplo, Major Lazer, Skrillex, TNGHT, bRUNA, Liars and Francesco Tristano. The next event will take place in the Catalan capital between the 13th and 15th of June.

Blur, Nick Cave, My Bloody Valentine, The Postal Service and Animal Collective will perform at Barcelona’s 2013 Primavera Sound

February 11, 2013 07:47 PM | CNA / Carlota Guerra

The music festival will celebrate its 13th anniversary with an impressive lineup and the participation of a long-list of prestigious artists. The Primavera Sound Music Festival, which takes place every year in late May in the city of Barcelona, is considered to be one of the best international music events in Southern Europe. It is also one of Barcelona’s musical highlights, along with the Sonar festival in June. This year’s Primavera Sound edition presented what is said to be the best list of participating artists since the beginning of the festival. Indie, rock and electronic music will be the mainstays of the festival.

The 2013 Mobile World Congress “will break all records” in its new Barcelona venue

January 24, 2013 03:39 PM | CNA

The world’s main event showcasing cell phone and mobile technology, the Mobile World Congress, is starting the final countdown to open its doors in one month’s time in Barcelona, as it has been doing each year since 2006. In its 8th year in the Catalan capital, the MWC, which is organised by GSMA, will move from Montjuic to the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona, in order to increase its space by 30%. Between, the 25th and 28th of February, this trade fair, expert conference and industry meeting point will host more than 70,000 visitors from 200 different countries, 300 speakers and 1,500 companies, 70 of which are Catalan. The congress will bring in more than €300 million to Barcelona’s economy and will create 6,500 temporary jobs.

An unpublished documentary from 1962 is released to celebrate ‘La Patum’

December 3, 2012 10:13 PM | Laura Quintana

‘La Patum’ is a popular festival celebrated every year during Corpus Christi in the Catalan city of Berga. In this town, the earliest reference to this festival dates from 1454 although the celebration has its origins in pre-Christian festivities. Over the years, a new symbolism has been given to the festival – it also incorporates elements from theatre in the Middle Ages - which led to an original mix of giants, devils, angels and other peculiar-looking characters. In 2012, ‘La Patum’ celebrates its 7th anniversary since UNESCO declared it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. This celebration coincides with the launch of a documentary which shows how ‘La Patum’ was celebrated 50 years ago.

MiRA festival, Barcelona’s autumn meeting for electronic music and visual arts lovers

November 9, 2012 11:28 PM | CNA / Pau Cortina

MiRA, the Music and Audiovisual Research Festival of Barcelona, merges electronic music and visual arts with artists such as Lone, Actress, Dan Tombs, Julien Mier, Hyetal, Actop, Gnomalab and the Desilence Studio. The MiRA festival has been organised for a second year, after a very successful first event. Hosted in the former Fabra i Coats factory, this year the festival will increase its offerings and double the number of related workshops. The festival is Barcelona’s autumn’s must-see event for electronic music fans and visual arts lovers.