A phrase that perhaps (only perhaps) presenters appreciate from those of us who participate in their discussions is "I don't know about this." It usually goes hand in hand with some last-minute, unexpected debate, not necessarily related to current political affairs. I am one of those who conjugates it without problem, although I must admit that, despite the official narrative, the program host does not always receive that act of sincerity (and responsibility) with great joy. But it is necessary to do so. Also when you face the preparation of an interview. And then, if you do so, everything flows better.
It happens much better, because it is part of journalism, to discover new worlds, studying them, informing yourself and asking those who know. It is a pleasure to have people who know a lot about a universe that is unknown to you, totally or in part, even though they may be realities that occur around the corner from your house. This is the case of a Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya that this year celebrates thirty-three years of hosting the Formula 1 Grand Prix and a Conde de Godó Tennis Trophy that this 2023 reaches seventy.
Together, they accumulate one hundred and three springs. And for many Barcelona residents like myself, they have surely been part, above all, of a wallpaper in the form of a collage of many things, too many, perhaps, to dedicate a piece of our dispersed attention to them. But this is not the case for an international sports circuit nor for citizens from many parts of the world, for example from northern Europe, for whom major sporting events are a driving force for life. And this is how the Banc Sabadell Open and the Formula 1 Grand Prix have also become a driving force for the economy of Barcelona and the country as a whole.
This week, in the mythical conversations of The New Barcelona – Moments Estel·lars, Xavier Pujol, CEO of the Banc Sabadell Open, and Josep Lluís Santamaría, director of the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya, explained it to us.
In times of Kings League, screens and the culture of total spectacle applied everywhere, also in sports, both agree that technology is leaving its mark both in the Godó and in Formula 1. The challenge is all of us, but especially today's youth.
How to now follow the best of a three-set match or car races that we might follow from the grass of a circuit like Montmeló? Well, on a multi-screen and with the feeling that, by doing so, we are going to experience a lot of things, track aside, with the excuse of a great sporting event.
This year, those who come to the Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona or the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya will find immersive novelties, the kind that show how great sporting events that have already accumulated decades also know how to get up to speed.
I leave you here the links to be able to recover the conversation via Spotify or Youtube.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vJkLgNDl8IVnjGwDYtQUK?si=u-pRPaVbSVeKd-K2c62erA