Barcelona is one of the main LGTBIQ+ tourism capitals worldwide, and this is reaffirmed every year during August, when the Circuit Festival lands with its parties in various venues and spaces in the city and its surroundings. This year, the festival organized by the Matinée group reaches its fifteenth edition, during which the event "has exported an image of a tolerant, inclusive, and safe Barcelona," according to the group's spokesperson, Ángela Ballesta.
"We have contributed to projecting to the world that Barcelona is an inclusive and tolerant city where affective diversity can be shown without fear, and we are proud of that," Ballesta claims. The Circuit, which generates 500 direct jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs, "adds value not only to the people who attend the festival but also to the city and its business fabric."
In this sense, according to Ballesta, the festival generates a positive impact on the city, both due to being held in decentralized locations and the characteristics of its attendees: "Ours is an audience with purchasing power that likes culture and chooses to allocate a significant budget to tourism." In addition, the event acts as an attraction beyond the festival, as, according to Ballesta, "an atmosphere is generated in the city that attracts many more people within this segment, who do not necessarily come to the Circuit," but who travel to the city during these dates because of the atmosphere it generates.
The Circuit audience is especially marked by another factor: its internationality. The festival, which held its first edition in 2008, brings together attendees from 80 nationalities from all over the world, among which the United States, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, China, and South Korea stand out.
The festival format created by Matinée CEO, Manolo Soria, contributes to the arrival of this international audience, as the Matinée group invites relevant gay agenda promoters worldwide to organize their most iconic parties during Circuit. Specifically, this edition will feature promoters from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the rest of Spain, who will offer their events with Matinée as host. Their proposals will be combined with those of the Catalan group's own brand, and all have in common that they are conceived as an "auditory but also visual show: it's not just the music, but the entire setup." In this sense, the festival "invests a lot of budget in its events," according to the Matinée spokesperson, who does not disclose the details of this budget.
For its fifteenth edition, the festival has programmed parties that will be spread across various clubs and spaces in Barcelona and its surroundings, with a decentralized proposal that includes spaces at Fira Gran Via, Razzmatazz club, Input Club, and Safari. As one of its highlights, the traditional event at the Illa Fantasia water park will not be missed. Located in Vilassar de Dalt, the venue annually hosts the festival's most massive and iconic party, which gathers 10,000 people each year. As a novelty for this edition, the pools of Diverbosc, in Cerdanyola del Vallès, will debut as a location.
"We always try to find new venues, because many people come back," explains Ballesta. However, "although the public appreciates novelty, they almost appreciate consistency more, and they know that Circuit has been offering a very consistent proposal for 15 editions and 17 years," emphasizes the group's spokesperson. And not only does the client repeat, but also the organizing team: "For 17 years, we have been the same in the core of the organization," which works to annually offer "an already legendary festival in Barcelona that is unique in the world."
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