This week, one of the copyrights that has brought the most joy to Barcelona and many Barcelonians will once again shine in the Fórum venue. Illuminated letters that seem to dance will welcome attendees and artists to the longest Primavera Sound in its twenty-one years: Created in Barcelona. The numbers are dizzying: according to the organizers' calculations, the impact on the city will be 300 million euros, with more than 150,000 people not residing in Barcelona who will oscillate between the first and second weekend of June, because this year, PS is like two festivals. Two weekends, two different lineups. More than 500 performances inside and outside the official venue over ten days. It is the final fireworks display before sharing, next year, a venue with Madrid for the first time.
To be honest, now that the impact of the news has passed, we must say that what Barcelona and Madrid will do next year is compete. Because it will not be two consecutive weekends with different artists, but rather the same artists who will perform the first weekend in Barcelona and the second in Madrid. It will be necessary to see Barcelona's power of seduction for the tens of thousands of Americans who come making a stopover in Barajas... and for the tens of thousands of Spanish citizens who, thanks to centralist railway planning, have Madrid closer than Barcelona... In the Ciudad del Rock, they will not be able to recreate the spectacular sunset that can be seen from the Fórum, but the heads of the culture area of the Barcelona City Council perhaps rely too much on this fact.
We can imagine all kinds of natural catastrophes, but Primavera Sound Madrid will be a success, especially because all its institutions have welcomed the festival with open arms. And not only this, they hope to be able to complete the embrace and that next year, in 2024, the two weekends will be held in Madrid and, if necessary, they will also add the Created in Barcelona. If nothing prevents it, it is easy for them to achieve it. The Community Government, the city council of the Spanish capital celebrate this business fallen from the sky and the fact of being able to award themselves a global brand. They join forces and go in the same direction, something that does not always happen because political parties, beyond their visible head, reorganize internally based on other local leaderships and powers, and that is where factions and strategic disarray begin.
The week of Created in Barcelona begins, which will be followed by another international festival born and developed in Barcelona, which also exports the brand worldwide and attracts thousands of visitors, Sónar. And others will come, like Vida, Cruïlla and the explosion of festivals that throughout the summer will allow us to enjoy live music, which has become a business that only a few think is a good idea to give away.