The Arts d’Estiu festival in Pineda de Mar (Maresme) has announced its cancellation a week before its start, on August 2, after the Department of Territory of the Generalitat de Catalunya has not authorized the celebration of the event in the Playa dels Pins, where it was going to take place.
Although from a sector of the organization they insist on blaming the cancellation on the residents who complained about the excess of musical activities in the same place, they do not reveal that an unfavorable technical report has already been issued from the City Council. In addition, from the Department of Climate Action they also point to the organization for not having renewed the noise impact report that was from 2019 and for presenting another after the deadline.
The Department of Territory alleges that the reason for denying the request to celebrate the festival is due to “the conditions in which it was requested.” The objective was to “hold seventeen concerts between August 1 and 20. To this time frame was added the occupation of the space two weeks before and one after for assembly and disassembly.” The Generalitat recalls that in 2022 the celebration of this festival coincided with that of two others, which caused numerous complaints from the residents. “There is an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office underway. And this year, during the public information of the mandatory request, 52 formal complaints have been received for the same reason.”
Acció Climática states that “the study provided by the organization does not provide alternatives and does not provide for corrective measures”. The Department offered the City Council “five days to present the modifications, but there is no communication” in this regard. They also remember that it was already warned from the beginning “that authorization could not be given again to repeat festivals.”
The declaration of the Department of Territory and Sustainability is not disclosed in the organization’s communiqués that directly accuse the neighbors who made allegations of the cancellation, which has already caused incidents. The Generalitat, however, recalls that in November 2022 the City Council was already warned that “it would not be accepted that municipal activities or festivals extend beyond two days.” In 2203, a disciplinary file was opened for this reason. They also stress that “the company Festival Arts d’Estiu SL has been required to provide the acoustic study.”
The Síndic de Greuges himself warned that, as the mayor had carried out in previous concerts, “the suspension of the acoustic quality objectives” while Arts d’Estiu lasted “is not an adequate instrument to allow the development of the requested activity.
Faced with pressure from supra-municipal administrations, some members of the organization opted to try political pressure, requesting the mediation of prominent Catalan politicians at the highest level, some of whom became interested in the case. However, political pressure has not been able to overcome the legal irregularities and technical deficiencies detailed in the mandatory reports.
For its part, the Departament d’Acció Climàtica also highlighted “the potential presence of nesting birds” in the area, as well as being susceptible to the laying of “the babaua turtle” all of which are included in the Special Protection Regime. Another extreme that the social networks of the supporters of the concerts do not mention either.
Apart from the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office is keeping an investigation open into the irregularities denounced by residents in the area, Territori adds that “due to the characteristics of the space, there is no way to promote the activity by meeting the acoustic quality objectives” established by the legislation. For all these reasons, they rule that it is agreed to “deny the request for occupation of the Pineda de Mar beach for the celebration of Arts d’Estiu 2023”.
On the other hand, a report from the Departament d’Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural considered that “the noise impact study that was attached to the application, prepared in 2019, did not conform to reality or to current legislation to size the impact that this event will generate. For this reason, a new report adapted to the protocol was requested, which was carried out but was delivered “out of time”. However, the Department of Territory assures that it was accepted to process the document to Acció Climática, which concluded that “the study, although it recognizes the significant acoustic impact that the activity will generate, does not prove that the best available techniques are used to meet the objectives acoustic quality, does not carry out any study of alternatives and does not foresee any significant corrective measures”.
Such has been the pressure on the residents of the Bellamar neighborhood who presented allegations, instigated by groups close to the organizers of the festival, that the City Council itself was forced to issue a pacifying statement since the residents “were rebuked and harassed” in their own houses. For all this, from the consistory they call for calm and civility.
Despite the unfavorable report, last Friday Territori addressed the Pineda de Mar City Council offering it the possibility that “within a maximum period of five days the corrective measures and allegations deemed appropriate will be presented.” However, the festival’s management reported this Wednesday on its website that “less than ten days after the start of the shows and without the ability to maneuver, we have no other alternative than to definitively suspend the festival.”
It should be said that some of the performances have been transferred to the Porta Ferrada Festival poster, which is held at the Guíxols Arena in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. These are the shows of Carlos Rivera, Rozalén, Sopa de Cabra and Els Amics de les Arts The Tyets. The price of the tickets for the rest of the canceled performances will be returned in full to the public.
Arts d’Estiu was born eleven years ago with the aim of generating a new cultural proposal for the summers in the Maresme area and it had been held for the last three years on Els Pins beach in Pineda de Mar. The last edition managed to sell 38,000 tickets and “Expectations were very good for this year, with more than 70% of the full capacity until Monday”, as the organizers announced in a statement.
