Reus will host the 19th Gaudí Gresol Awards for Notoriety and Excellence on 17 June at the Gaudí Auditorium in Tecnoparc firaReus, starting at 7pm. The Reus City Council and the Gresol Foundation presented the details of the gala, which will recognise people for their professional and personal achievements, merits and dedication.
The awards have previously gone to figures including Pau Gasol, Valentí Fuster, Ferran Adrià and Mercè Sampietro. This year’s honourees are expected to attend the ceremony and collect a bronze bust of Antoni Gaudí, created by sculptor Joan Matamala. A solidarity dinner will follow, with proceeds going to Open Arms. For more local coverage, see our news tag.
Open Arms has spent 10 years protecting vulnerable people and defending human rights. The organisation began during the humanitarian crisis in the Aegean Sea, when thousands fled conflict and extreme precarity. Led by Òscar Camps, a group of lifeguards started working to prevent further loss of life at sea.
Since then, Open Arms has become an international leader in search and rescue missions in the central Mediterranean, one of the world’s most dangerous migratory routes, helping to save and protect over 70,000 people. It has also opened humanitarian corridors and responded to emergencies in Greece, Ukraine, Valencia and Gaza, alongside World Central Kitchen.
This year’s awards recognise six people from different fields. Santiago J. Castellà, a doctor in international law, has worked in academia, institutions and public management. He is chair of the Port of Tarragona and leads Barcelona Catalunya Centre Logístic. Antoni Bassas is a Catalan journalist with more than four decades of experience in radio, television and print, including long runs at Catalunya Ràdio and TV3, and work with Ara.
Alba Sotorra, born in Reus in 1980, is a documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on social and political realities, gender issues and human rights. Lluís Gausa is medical director at the Puigvert Foundation and has worked there since 1995. Josep Santacreu has spent more than three decades in insurance and healthcare, including years as CEO of DKV Seguros, and has also worked on corporate social responsibility in Catalonia.
The Gaudí Gresol Awards remain a fixture in Reus’s civic calendar, bringing together figures from across Catalonia and beyond. The event combines public recognition with a fundraising dinner for a humanitarian cause, keeping the focus on both professional achievement and social commitment.