The Festa de la Unitat Popular will be held at Casal Despertaferro in Reus from 20:00 on Friday 2 October, rather than at Parc de l’U d’Octubre as initially planned.

Casal Despertaferro and CUP de Reus, a local branch of the left-wing Candidatura d’Unitat Popular party, said they had changed venue and reduced the event’s format after receiving no administrative response from Reus City Council to their request for permission to use public space. For attendees, the programme will now be limited to the events that can take place at the Casal, while two scheduled performances have been postponed.

“We are once again faced with a concealed privatisation and control of the use of public space. While they make us complete a bureaucratic obstacle course, with very strict deadlines, they have no time limit for replying.”Casal Despertaferro and CUP de Reus, in their joint statement

Live podcast and political event remain on Friday

The organisers said the delay meant they could not establish the final cost of staging an outdoor event, including an electricity generator, toilets and security. They also said it made it harder to publicise the event and meet requirements set for activities in public space.

Friday’s revised programme at Casal Despertaferro will include:

  • a live edition of the Arrabassada podcast, with former MP Laia Estrada as guest;
  • a political event; and
  • a start time of 20:00.

Comedian Charlie Pee and DJ Perla Negra, who were on the original bill, have agreed to reschedule their performances for a later date when the organisers say they have a guarantee of a sufficiently large venue in the city.

Parc de l’U d’Octubre is the green space in the Mas Mainer area that Reus council named in 2018. Casal Despertaferro and CUP de Reus said other neighbourhood and cultural organisations had raised similar concerns about permits for public-space events during the past year.

People planning to attend should go to Casal Despertaferro at 20:00 on Friday 2 October, rather than to Parc de l’U d’Octubre.

Primary sources: transparencia.reus.cat. Reported by infocamp.cat, reusdigital.cat, Infocamp.