With more than 30,000 visitors, the first Open Days, which were held from Friday, May 24 to Sunday, May 26, were an overwhelming success. “This response from citizens demonstrates the interest and curiosity to learn more about the Port’s operation, history and future projects,” expressed its president, Lluís Salvadó .
The Ágora Port
In addition to the historical, land and maritime visits planned for the three days, attendees were able to enjoy a wide range of free access activities. The Portal de la Pau square, in front of Colón, was a vibrant point of dissemination and entertainment with the Ágora Port, a space open to everyone who, through interaction, activities and cultural events, wants to bring the activity of the Port of Barcelona, its most innovative projects and, ultimately, everything that its infrastructure contributes to citizens.
The #attendees learned from professionals in each field, from how a container terminal works to how the Port of Barcelona is integrating drones and 5G technology into its facilities or how it plans to connect ships to the electrical grid through the Nexigen project. The emphasis was also put on environmental education with workshops to discover Barcelona’s marine life or talks on responsible fish consumption and learning about the challenges and sustainable solutions to the problem of microplastics.
Music and entertainment complemented the Ágora Port program. The Sabor de Gracia group offered a workshop to learn everything about Catalan rumba on Saturday at sunset. The giants and bestiary of Barceloneta also filled the Portal de la Pau with their figures and Son de La Habana closed the Agora’s programming with habaneras, on Sunday at sunset.
A seafood market with local products
Gastronomy was also another attraction of these days with a seafood market located in the Portal de la Pau square, which offered a wide variety of local products related to the sea. Visitors had the opportunity to both purchase and taste the products in the tasting space and enjoy a gastronomic experience by the sea.
Exhibition of Port Police and Firefighters vehicles from the Port of Barcelona and #SelfiePort
It was a great occasion, especially for the little ones. They enjoyed and, at the same time, learned about the task carried out by both the Guardamolls corps such as the specific Firefighters of the Port of Barcelona.
Apart from that, the Port installed several photocalls spread across emblematic points of Port Vell and to take a fun photo and tag the @portdebarcelona with the hashtag #SelfiePort . The best photographs were shared on the Port of Barcelona’s social networks.
Parallel activities
El Poto de Barcelona has involved the cultural, associative and commercial fabric of the port area and the nearby neighborhoods with several parallel activities throughout the three days.
Participants: Maritime Museum of Barcelona, Museum of History of Catalonia, Amics de La Rambla, America’s Cup Experience , Merchants Association of Poble Sec & Paral.lel, Association of Merchants of Barceloneta, Association of Merchants of La Marina, , Maremagnum Aquarium, Fundació Barcelona Capital Nàutica.
