Last week the forecasts regarding the future of the Pedralbes gardens as a place of culture, music and recreation in Barcelona summers came true. In other words, about the immediate future of the Jardins de Pedralbes Festival. As the current managers of the space had announced, the General Directorate of Heritage of the Ministry of Economy, had to make public the conditions for holding a festival there.
It is to say, as if I could read the past, they unveiled the “bid to grant a temporary occupation permit in the Palacio de Pedralbes in Barcelona, ??for the realization of a musical show”.
The technical and administrative prescriptions included in the document point to a first conclusion: the festival model consolidated up to now is not the one that interests those who decide its future.
From the outset, because the simple timings for calling the contest, submitting proposals (until February 11), opening of tenders, debate, decision and announcement in practice force the winner of the tender to have three short and scarce months to prepare a program that is up to the task of… the truth is that we don’t really know what… although, beware! objectives is “a highly prestigious music program, following the cultural line offered at other prestigious music festivals around the world”.
Although already known, it is worth repeating that a poster of these characteristics, which implies the presence of first division names, is not exactly made overnight. What is the case.
This specification points to a model of “musical show” that is far from what has become a prestigious piece of the cultural map of Barcelona ten years after its start. There are determining spatial requirements, specifically the much smaller space where the village, the gastronomic area and the other musical stages will be located.
The tightness also of the schedules, with the general opening of doors at 8:00 p.m. and the absolute cessation of musical activity at midnight and at one in the morning, everything closed. The maximum capacity of the festival area in the park will be 2,400 spectators, and in the large-format concert all attendees must be seated. Ah! And tickets cannot be sold if they are not to attend the big concert, that is, not to go only to the village.
But first there is more: the occupation permit fee, which is one of the award criteria, is established at a minimum of 458,055 euros for the total duration of the permit for three years. Bidders who increase this not inconsiderable amount will have points in favour, as well as those who program Catalan musicians, women or new talents…
What all of the above points to: a musical model of local raw material, obstacles to enjoyment in general, abundant initial capital… What is clear is that what comes out will no longer be the Festival Jardins de Pedralbes as we knew it. But hopefully we are wrong and criteria, consistency and quality prevail. And the transparency.