Barcelona is accelerating efforts to attract international events of all kinds that contribute to strengthening its position as a leading international destination in areas such as quality tourism, sports, music, technology, artistic creation, and gastronomy. In this vein, it was announced this Wednesday that the Catalan capital is the chosen city to host the most important cocktail event in the world in October, the awards ceremony for the prestigious The World's 50 Best Bars, which will bring together more than a thousand guests and the best international bartenders.
Since its creation thirteen years ago, this event, organized by the same company that annually compiles the ranking of the 50 best restaurants in the world, has always been held in London, so Barcelona will be the city to inaugurate this new itinerant stage, as the intention now is to change the venue. Thus, although not yet officially confirmed, after Barcelona, Singapore will host The World's 50 Best Bars gala in 2023.
The consulted sources indicate that Barcelona will try to bid again to repeat in 2024, although there is no guarantee that this will happen, as there is much international interest in attracting events of this type. These same sources explain that this year Madrid also aspired to be the host city, but in the end, Barcelona prevailed. The city is also working to host the The World's 50 Best Restaurants gala again.
"Barcelona is one of the top five international destinations for lovers of good cocktails; we are very happy to announce this historic agreement for The World's 50 Best Bars to leave London for the first time," highlighted Tim Brooke-Webb, CEO of the British firm.
Currently, in the ranking of the fifty best cocktail bars in the world there are four Spanish ones, of which three are in Barcelona (Paradiso, Two Schmucks and Sips) and one in Madrid (Salmon Guru). Paradiso, in the Born neighborhood and led by bartender Giacomo Giannotti, occupies a very prominent third place on the international list, only behind two bars located in London. For its part, Two Schmucks, in the Raval and captained by Moe Aljaff's, is ranked number 11. Finally, Sips, by Marc Álvarez, on Muntaner street, entered the list last year, ranking 37th. The annual ranking of premium cocktail bars or bars is based on the votes cast by a panel of 650 anonymous judges who travel the world.
"Barcelona is a city that has 9,000 bars! It is something that is part of our tradition as a Mediterranean city that loves nightlife and being on the street. But it is also a city that stimulates creation; in addition to living life, we want to create and do things well," said the first deputy mayor, Jaume Collboni.
According to the councilor, the decision of The World's 50 Best Bars to bet on Barcelona is a recognition "of the City Council's effort to attract activities that position the city as a benchmark in excellence, both in gastronomic offer and visitor experience." "We will announce more events of this magnitude that will help us to attract more quality visitors," he advanced.
The arrival of this award to the Catalan capital is carried out by Magatzem Escolà, a Barcelona-based wine and spirits distribution and import company that will act as a local partner of the organizing company. "Bringing The World's 50 Best Bars awards to Barcelona is a magnificent opportunity to give visibility to the world of bartending and, above all, to recognize Barcelona's position as one of the main global capitals of gastronomic leisure," explained Francesc Escolà, owner of the company together with his cousin, Natalia Escolà.
With a 50-year trajectory in the sector, this family company, which has a store in the Born, is one of the references in the distribution of wines and spirits for the hospitality sector in Barcelona, where they supply some 3,300 clients. With a staff of 88 people, Escolà invoiced 44 million euros in 2021 and also has a subsidiary specialized in the cocktail sector, OTC Group.
According to Francesc Escolà, there is clearly an evolution of the consumer who is increasingly opting for higher quality products and premium cocktails. "Consumption is evolving towards quality and from mixed drinks to cocktails," highlights the owner of the company, who also has an important training classroom in his establishment in the Born.
To highlight the growing importance of cocktails, Magatzem Escolà will launch from October 1 to 9 the Barcelona Cocktail Experience with the collaboration and support of the city's restaurant and hotel sector guilds and the bartenders' association. The objective is that during the first week of October the city will be the world capital of cocktails, not only for the 50 Best gala, but also for the set of actions that will take place those days in the bars, cocktail bars, restaurants and hotels that decide to participate in the initiative. Pairings, masterclasses and presentations will be some of the ingredients of the program that is now being devised and in which more than 75,000 people are expected to participate.
In addition, Barcelona will host on October 5 the final of the Spirit Essence competition, a team cocktail championship that seeks to discover new talents and emphasize training to turn this job into a profession. 280 professionals have already registered and will be able to receive training scholarships valued at 70,000 euros, in addition to 36,000 euros in prizes.
Although the dates are not yet definitive, the celebration of The World's 50 Best Bars awards will kick off on Monday, October 3, with a bartenders' party, while the gala night, sponsored by Perrier, could be on Tuesday, October 4, with more than a thousand guests and numerous international press. A few days earlier, on September 27, those classified in the 51 to 100 section of the list will be announced.
"The coincidence of the three events in one week will be a great attraction for cocktail lovers from all over the world, a sector that is gaining more and more followers," concludes the organization.
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