It had been a long time since Barcelona breathed an atmosphere of celebration and expectation like this Wednesday's. A total of 38,000 people gathered this afternoon around Plaza Catalunya and Paseo de Gràcia to attend the Formula 1 car exhibition. A civic celebration that has been organized in the city center on the occasion of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix, which will be held this weekend at the Montmeló circuit.
This is the first time that Barcelona hosts a road show of this type. It comes after a similar event was held last year in Madrid amid negotiations by Madrid authorities to get F1 to organize a Grand Prix there, according to ACN. A celebration that has not been without traffic restrictions and large crowds of people, with points where it was difficult to move forward. There have also been residents who have protested against the event, blocking Aragó street, one of the city's main urban highways.
This afternoon's exhibition had been warming up since Sunday, when a fan zone was set up in Plaza Catalunya. It is a very complete village with gastronomy stalls, live music, state-of-the-art simulators, several single-seaters to take photos with, and shops where F1 merchandise can be bought.