Barcelona City Council will reinforce its municipal services to guarantee a safe and civic celebration of the , with an extensive security system and cleaning teams and with the metro open all night long without interruption. The , in coordination with the , will reinforce security on Maria Cristina Avenue, will deploy road alcohol and drug controls and will strengthen the .
where a fireworks show will be held in a space that last year brought together about 120,000 people. On this occasion, the show is designed by the French company Groupe F, directed by Christophe Berthonneau, and there will be a tribute to Joan Miró. Starting at 9:00 p.m. on December 31, the music will begin to play and at 11:50 p.m. the show will begin Barcelona Beatswith more than 500 drones and pyrotechnic elements “carefully synchronized” in a choreography. Love will be the common thread of this proposal and the objective is, according to the Barcelona Institute of Culture (ICUB), “to create a visual experience that marks the transition between 2024 and 2025,” inviting participants to “share a moment of collective joy and celebration.”
Likewise, there will be a “special” tribute to Joan Miró, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Foundation that bears his name. Emblematic works of his in Barcelona such as the Pla de l’Os mosaic and ‘Dona i Ocell’ will inspire the visual elements that will begin the celebration, highlighting the importance of Miró’s legacy in the city’s culture.
In addition to the tribute to Miró, who will be invited to rediscover “in the context of a great collective festival”, there will be a tour of emblematic works of art in the public space, such as The Kiss Muralby photographer Joan Fontcuberta, or Keith Haring’s on AIDS. Just before midnight, a large heart will “beat” on Montjuïc, symbolizing friendship and solidarity, projecting visual images that evoke concord and peace. With the chimes, the drones will appear and there will be a fireworks display, combining “light and movement” at the close of the show. The 500 drones that will create shapes and aerial choreographies will be loaded with pyrotechnic effects and the city council plans to launch about 800 kilos of pyrotechnics, which will reach about 180 meters high, on a front of more than 300 meters, incorporating “new designs of Japanese style in colors that appear and disappear.” The sky of Montjuïc Mountain will be illuminated with sixty moving heads, installed at various levels, from the crane at 60 meters high to the front towers of Maria Cristina, while fifteen mobile flame machines will be added from the Font Màgica.
According to the City Council, so that all attendees can enjoy this show safely, the Guàrdia Urbana, the Mossos and Civil Protection will work on a joint device with prevention functions for citizen security and to avoid disturbances to public order. An access device with control filters will also be established to prevent access to the area with glass bottles, cans, electric scooters or any other object potentially dangerous to public safety. In fact, according to the City Council, access to Maria Cristina Avenue – you cannot enter either through Rius i Taulet Avenue or Francesc Ferrer i Guardia Avenue – will be controlled by private security, with the support of Urbana and the Mossos, which will have metal detection shovels.
Civil Protection, Firefighters and Urban Protection will also activate their drone service to support the citizen security device at this festival on Maria Cristina Avenue, as is already the case with the Pyromusical of the Mercè Festival. As in recent years, the Urban Police will also keep the so-called “safe itineraries” activated to prevent sexual assaults and sexist and LGBT-phobic violence, facilitating an orderly and safe exit from nightlife environments and also from Maria Cristina Avenue. and the transfer to public transport.
In this case, the Urbana patrols assigned to this service will carry out proactive and dynamic patrolling, in contact with those responsible for security at nightlife establishments. La Urbana, in collaboration with the Mossos, will also establish a prevention device, in anticipation of gatherings of people to celebrate New Year’s Eve at different points on public roads. In fact, Urbana will monitor social networks to detect possible calls for New Year’s Eve celebrations at different points, since the objective is to guarantee residents’ rest and monitor illegal activities on public roads.
Within the framework of its Christmas device, the Urban Police has already carried out inspections of public places, focusing on infractions such as excessive noise or capacity or the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors or on public roads and to ensure that these spaces meet safety conditions.
To reinforce road safety, the Guàrdia Urbana will establish alcohol and drug controls at various points in Barcelona. At the same time, the metro will operate throughout the night, in a 43-hour interrupted service between 5 a.m. on Tuesday, December 31, until midnight on Wednesday, January 1. The opening of the metro seeks to facilitate quick and safe travel for the citizens of Barcelona and its metropolitan area. Barcelona City Council has also agreed to reinforce the cleaning service with 81 workers and 32 vehicles, especially in the area of Ciutat Vella, Eixample and Gràcia, in addition to the operation on Maria Cristina Avenue.
