In the midst of the perfect storm caused by Covid-19, Antonio Gramsci's phrase on how to face crises comes to mind. The Italian philosopher and politician said: "In the face of a crisis, foresight and perspective are needed."
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Most solvent economic analysts consider that nothing will be the same in the coming years and that many of the existing leisure models, as well as fair and congress activity, will have to be rethought. The idea of a resumption of congresses like Mobile, Alimentaria, or Construmat with the same model as before is faltering. But this does not mean that with foresight and perspective we cannot improve and adapt them. Surely we can. And if we talk about tourism, we can say the same. Will the resumption be difficult? Surely it will. And a great effort will be needed to help many businesses and professionals who have fallen get back on their feet. Especially in areas like culture, the effort will have to be even greater. But we will move forward. Meanwhile, we must know how to seize the opportunity to consider how we think about and design an improvement in the quality of our tourist and fair product. What are we doing? Is there a plan? Don't we know? I am convinced that the professionals at the head of Fira de Barcelona or of the different professional congresses held in our city are already thinking beyond the Covid-19 era.
For now, the only clear major milestone that is being structured is the Barcelona-Pyrenees bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. It is not easy against rivals with experience and capacity like Sapporo or Salt Lake City, but the effort is surely worth it to put Barcelona back on the map and improve infrastructure and equipment.
When Mayor Jordi Hereu made the proposal, many rushed to ridicule it. But what is certain is that a well-organized Barcelona-Pyrenees bid can compete against anyone. We have amply demonstrated that we know how to do this. It is also true that in its early stages, the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, disparaged the project, but little by little the capital's government team has been embracing the idea.
There is an initial reproach that has endured to this day, the error that means Barcelona, and by rebound the entire country, have to advance by means of major events. It is reasonable to think this way. But one thing does not negate the other. Events like an Olympic Games, even if they are minor as is the case with the Winter Games, force us to rethink a part of the country and give us the opportunity to remake and improve it.
To begin with, a Winter Games provides us with the leverage to solve and improve connections between Barcelona and the north of the country. To start, the railway. The Barcelona-Puigcerdà line. I will spare myself the litany of historical reproaches about the lack of investment and improvement of this line. Someone with good reason could tell me that games should not be necessary to improve it once and for all. It is true, it is so. But a great possibility opens up for us to be able to duplicate the railway line to Puigcerdà. Solving a historical deficit and bringing the eastern Pyrenees and the metropolitan area closer. In addition to the leap it would mean for cities like Granollers and Vic. As always, there are already those who legitimately, moved by realism, lower expectations and state that duplicating it to Vic would be enough. This would be an immense error. The structuring of a territory and the balance between center and periphery is precisely done by thinking about improving connectivity with those less populated areas. Foresight and perspective are needed, and the railway is present and future for our communications.
The improvement of the C-17 road and especially its passage through urban areas should be a priority. The Llobregat axis and the C-17 are the main road connections between the eastern Pyrenees and Barcelona. It is another opportunity to do what should have been done a long time ago. Within the framework of this planning, this is where the need to rescue the Tosses tunnel project should be placed, an initiative that was replaced by the Cadí tunnel, thus reinforcing the Llobregat axis to the detriment of the Ter axis.
In Barcelona, the updating of facilities such as the Olympic Stadium, the Palau Sant Jordi, the Palau d'Esports, the Velòdrom or the construction of the new Palau Blaugrana would imply a leap in quality to redefine and fine-tune many of these facilities. And the Olympic villages that will have to be enabled in different parts of the territory can become a good incentive to rebuild and help the tourism sector, which has been so damaged by the crisis.
But perhaps the most important thing of all is to realign the Catalan institutions and the private sector in a common and high-level project. It is necessary because the crisis brought about by Covid-19 has clouded the horizon. And above all because many more opportunities and proposals can emerge from the organizational gymnastics in the preparation and planning of the Games. It is an opportunity that, despite the difficulties, allows us to think, correct and improve. Foresight and perspective.