Barcelona City Council is considering illuminating Plaça Catalunya with emergency garlands while the housing protest remains in place. The general lighting will be on 26 November.
The government of Jaume Collboni does not seem willing to remove the encampment in defence of the right to housing, which has occupied Plaça Catalunya since late September. This was suggested by the Deputy Mayor for Commerce, Raquel Gil, during the presentation of the municipal attractions for this holiday season. The socialist councillor added that the eviction is the responsibility of the Generalitat.
According to Gil, the council still has time to set up the originally planned lighting, although the City Council is already working on an alternative plan. Technicians could place garlands on the sides of the square, an emergency decoration that will not resemble the designer lights introduced last year.
The protesters, for their part, do not plan to lift the protest at least until after the general elections on 29-N. Their spokesperson in the area, Marikarmen Free, a regular anarchist activist in other protests, claims that the encampment exceeds 300 tents and regularly gathers over 400 people.
“Suddenly we are the Grinch. Apparently, we have ruined Christmas... but the truth is that no one from the City Council ever came to tell us anything about the Christmas lights. The only thing they did was cut off our electricity.”
Free added that attendance increases on weekends, as people from outside Barcelona come, and that in anticipation of the general strike on Wednesday, they will set up food, rest, and healthcare stations. The City Council has responded that it respects the right to all peaceful protests.
The problem also extends to the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB), which is urgently seeking another location for the traditional Christmas festival in the square. This event is one of the main attractions organized by the council during this time.
Central merchants are anxiously watching the change. Barcelona Oberta, the entity that groups the most visited commercial axes in the city, hopes that the square can be decorated if it is cleared after the strike. The merchants understand the protest but believe it is not the way to affect their sales.
Outside the square, the lighting plan remains. Gran Via, Aragó Street, and Via Laietana will repeat last year's decorations, and Passeig de Sant Joan will have its usual decoration. Rambla Prim and Passeig Maragall will also debut designer lights, and the city will present 140 kilometres of lights.
The lighting in Passeig de Gràcia will take place on 26 November, a day before Black Friday. This time it will be done near Rossell Street, rather than at the height of Ronda Sant Pere, to avoid last year's mobility issues. The City Council will also illuminate markets and notable buildings such as the Convent of Sant Agustí or the Torre de les Aigües del Besòs.
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