San Mamés aspires to enter the collective memory of Barcelona fans, not only for being the stage in which FC Barcelona can lift the third Champions League, but for becoming the biggest trip of the culé fans to a European final. It is expected that a wave of nearly 40,000 Blaugrana fans will flood the streets of Bilbao, an unprecedented number in women’s football and comparable to historical movements in men’s football, such as the 50,000 who traveled to Seville in 1986 to watch the Copa de Barcelona final. Europe against Steaua in Bucharest, or the more than 30,000 in Basel in the 1979 Cup Winners’ Cup. The geographical proximity between Barcelona and Bilbao, the great capacity of the San Mamés stadium – more than 53,000 seats –, or the great sporting moment of Barça , which can raise a historic poker of titles, have been more than enough reasons for the fans to respond en masse.
FC Barcelona has organized 22 coaches for more than 1,300 members, a record number. By bus, train, plane or private vehicle, the arrival in Bilbao is already beginning to be noticed in the days before, although the great Blaugrana tide will arrive on Saturday. The 1,200 fans who accompanied the team in its first European final in Budapest, back in 2019, are far away. The pandemic deprived the Blaugrana team of lifting their first trophy accompanied by their people in 2021, when they conquered a deserted Gamla Ullevi in Göteborg. In 2022, the fans did not want to miss it and more than 15,000 fans traveled to Turin in a massive movement, but the party could not be completed with the title, since the team was defeated precisely by Lyon. Last year, the figure was somewhat lower, around 10,000, due to the connection between Barcelona and Eindhoven being more complex and the lower capacity of the stadium, with just over 34,000 seats.
Under the motto “Movem Bilbao”, the culé landing will be total, and San Mamés will become the most attended final in history, surpassing the 50,212 that witnessed the 2012 final between Lyon and Frankfurt at the Olympiastadion in Munich.
UEFA sold out the first 25,000 seats in a few minutes, and the same thing happened with the 9,625 that corresponded to FC Barcelona. It is estimated that about two-thirds of San Mamés will be dyed blaugrana.
For the first time in the history of the Champions League, a fan zone will be installed for each fan. The FC Barcelona one will be in the Doña Casilda park, next to the San Mamés stadium. It will be open tomorrow from 10 am with activities and musical entertainment, and all fans who have traveled to Bilbao without a ticket will be able to follow the final (18 hours) on a giant screen. In addition, UEFA will host a party for the entire city on the San Mamés esplanade with activities and musical performances from early in the morning until late at night. The best scenario to see FC Barcelona lift its third European crown.