More than 55,000 spectators in 176 plays distributed in 145 spaces, in a single day. With these figures, the 'Cap butaca buida' initiative has achieved its goal: to achieve the world record for attendees in one day in theaters in a specific territory. Given this reception of its first edition, the initiative has already announced that it will repeat next year, and that it will do so on March 22.
"We have managed to make the celebration transcend the sector and reach the citizens," defended the president of the Associació d'Empreses de Teatre de Catalunya (ADETCA), Isabel Vidal. Before the final gala, at El Molino, she predicted that the number of spectators will grow as they receive more data in the coming hours and days.
The initiative has premiered with the will to set a diada for the performing arts on the calendar. "We wanted to celebrate theater with the public," according to Toni Albaladejo, vice president of ADETCA, an entity that has acted as one of the promoters. They have been accompanied by Time Out and the CCMA, with the support of the Generalitat, the Diputación de Barcelona and the Barcelona City Council.
Both Vidal and Albaladejo, as well as the co-general director of Time Out Spain and France, Eduard Voltas, have applauded that 'Cap Butaca Buida' has served to position Catalonia as the first territory to reach the world record for spectators in theater halls in a single day.
The initiative has gathered 46,500 spectators in the municipalities of Barcelona; 2,800, in those of Girona; 1,500, in Lleida, and 4,300 in the regions of Tarragona. Specifically, the Catalan capital has concentrated most of the scenic equipment adhering to the day, with a total of 107. Tarragona has made 14 different halls available to the public; Girona has contributed 13, and Lleida, 11.