The burning of Marijaia, the icon of the Bilbao festivities, closed last night the most massive Aste Nagusia in the Biscayan capital. The Town Hall of the town calculates that 1,800,000 people have enjoyed the activities programmed throughout the nine days of festivities of this Big Week, which is a historical record. The municipal balance, likewise, has put the focus on the question of security, an issue that appears insistently as the first municipal concern of the people of Bilbao. According to official data, arrests have increased by 29%, reaching 209, although crimes have decreased by 17% compared to the previous year (1,365 reported events).
These data, both those referring to attendance and those related to security, have led the Bilbao City Council to make a “positive” balance and to describe the edition of these popular festivals that emerged in 1978, in a climate of political turmoil, as a “success”. and social that forged its popular and participatory character.
“We have once again demonstrated our ability to organize a great cultural and leisure event, lasting nine days, of the first level and a benchmark in Southern Europe,” said the mayor, Juan Mari Aburto.
Considering the attendance figures, “the first estimates suggest that it is a historic edition in participation, exceeding 1.8 million people”, they have pointed out from the Consistory.
The most massive events have been the fireworks, “exceeding the average of 130,000 people every night”, followed by family shows (the Whale Parade brought together 150,000 people on the 20th) or the festive start ceremony, the start of the de Marijaia and the txupinazo that kicked off the festivities, followed by some 45,000 people in the Plaza del Arriaga.
The concerts organized within the municipal program have been attended by some 240,000 people, to which must be added the thousands of people who have attended the concerts organized by the festive agents (Bilboko Konpartsak) or by different venues in the city. The most massive concert was that of Lola Indigo, with 18,000 attendees.
As for the figures related to security, the final balance offers worrying data that, however, the City Council has considered good in contrast to the data from the previous edition.
In total, 1,365 events have been reported throughout Aste Nagusia (compared to 1,644 in 2022). 73.4% (1,002) of these crimes have been thefts: mainly mobile phones and wallets. Robberies with intimidation have increased slightly compared to last year: 173, compared to 164 the previous year. The detainees have gone from the 162 of the previous year to the 209 of this edition, which has led the mayor to highlight the “police efficiency”.
In addition, 16 crimes against sexual freedom have been denounced, all of them linked to “touching”, as indicated by the Bilbao City Council, which has highlighted that “all the perpetrators have been identified or brought to justice”.
The Bilbao City Council has indicated that the balance in this section is positive because the festivities “have passed calmly and with hardly any serious criminal acts.”
Although it has not been necessary to activate the protocols against aggressions (neither sexist nor due to hate incidents), the Biscayan capital has had a care service, psychological and legal support for women victims of sexist violence and people victims of sexist violence during Aste Nagusia. LGTBIQ phobic, racist and xenophobic hate incidents, 24 hours a day, through the Equality and Coexistence teams, the Municipal Social Emergencies Service (SMUS) and the Municipal Police.
