Barcelona city council has dropped the use of “Festa Major” for the pre-Tour de France events planned in the city, after objections from the local festivals council. The change was confirmed by mayor Jaume Collboni during a municipal plenary session on 24 June.
Collboni was responding to a request from ERC to reconsider the name for the programme, which is scheduled to run from 26 June to 5 July. He said, “Indeed, mistakes can be made, and when a mistake is made, it is corrected. Nothing happens.”
The decision follows opposition from the Consell de les Festes Majors de Barcelona, which had publicly rejected the use of the traditional festival name for activities linked to the cycling race. The council said the label did not fit the nature of the events.
Collboni said major festivals are an important part of Barcelona’s identity and said they have a positive impact on neighbourhood life. He also defended the pre-Tour programme, saying it would support local commerce and help revitalise neighbourhoods. For more city coverage, see our Barcelona and Catalonia news page.
The council said local cycling clubs and nearby businesses have taken part in organising the programme. The total cost is €460,000. The events will still go ahead, with ten concerts on main stages in Plaça de la Catedral and Plaça de Margarida Xirgu, plus performances by Doctor Prats, Ladilla Rusa, Suu, Sexenni, 31 FAM and Sidonie.
Eight performing arts and dance companies are also due to take part, along with eighteen street performances. Another feature is Le Tour on Tour, a float-show that will travel through Barcelona’s ten districts between 27 June and 2 July. The programme also involves fourteen commercial areas, forty municipal markets and guilds, six shopping centres and more than 2,500 decorated shops.