La Rambla will once again be one of the undisputed protagonists this Sant Jordi, which will fall on a weekday for the first time since the pandemic. The organizers have decided to completely recover its route after a few years in which it had even been eliminated from the route, despite being where this cultural festival was born almost 100 years ago. From Canaletas to Santa Mònica, passers-by and rose and book stalls will once again overflow the city's most emblematic artery, making the route continue along Paseo de Gràcia, where the literary super-block of recent years will be maintained, and Gran de Gràcia, with annexes such as Plaza Universitat and Paseo de Sant Joan.
After a record-breaking edition last year, with constant rivers of people at any time of day, preparations point to new staggering figures, with a total of 336 stalls compared to 320 a year ago. In total, more than 3,350 meters of stalls will be added, growing more than 50 meters compared to 2023. To this must also be added the hundred stalls that will be in front of the bookstores. These figures have gained cruising speed in recent years, despite the impact of the pandemic, as shown when it is recalled that, in 2017, seven years ago, there were only about 190 stalls. The Cambra del Llibre de Catalunya, an entity that brings together publishers, booksellers and distributors in the sector, expects to repeat last year's results, when 1.87 million copies were sold and 24 million euros were invoiced.
With a presence for the first time in seven districts of the Catalan capital, La Rambla will rival in popularity with the García Márquez Library, a grand debut for this April 23 after becoming the best public library in the world. It will participate with the constant supervision of Mortadelo and Filemón, who will surely be looking from the traffic light of La Verneda that they now occupy for readers of Francisco Ibañez's posthumous comic, Paris 2024, recently published.
All these figures that anticipate a new successful Sant Jordi are accompanied by the controversy that has arisen this year due to the introduction of the co-payment model for stalls, taking into account that the necessary infrastructure to get everything up and running has a cost of 243,000 euros, of which 175,000 euros are assumed by the Generalitat (more than 70%) and 30,000 by the Barcelona City Council. For the remaining 40,000 euros, the Cambra del Llibre de Catalunya has opted for the payment of a fee of between 80 and 100 euros, depending on whether one is a member or not, for every six meters of stall, which will have a maximum of 24 meters. Stalls located on La Rambla, Paseo de Gràcia and Gran de Gràcia will have to pay, while those located in areas such as Avenida Diagonal, around the L'Illa shopping center, Rambla del Poblenou and Paseo de Sant Joan will not have to. After some small publishers and social collectives have denounced this new management model for the diada, the organizers are open to reviewing it for next year.