A new design for the Christmas lights
Three city centre streets will get new Christmas lights this year, created by the Estudi Antoni Arola, the winner of the Christmas illuminations design competition launched in February. The new lights for Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Carrer d’Aragó and Plaça de Catalunya will be the first step in renewing the festive lighting around the city centre, turning the Christmas illuminations into a new city icon.
The new lighting aims to improve the quality of lighting, with designs which create an image of Barcelona linked to its brand as a city of design, and which at the same time fits in with its values.
This year’s Christmas lighting will have more new features, for instance the section of Ronda de Sant Pere between Pg. Sant Joan and Pl. Urquinaona will get lighting for the first time, joining others that have been lit up for the first time in recent years. These include Pl. Catalunya, Pl. Urquinaona, Via Laietana and C/ Balmes, all consolidating the festive illuminations.
Bigger Christmas lighting budget
This is the second year running that the budget for Christmas lighting will rise considerably, increasing from 1,662,000 euros to 2,057,866 euros, an additional 24%. This will allow for more streets to have lighting in the city centre, for better quality lighting and for more lighting in streets covered by the Neighbourhood Plan and in areas where long-term works are in progress.
Collaboration from commerce
Besides public streets illuminated with wholly municipal funding, hundreds of streets and squares fill with Christmas lights through initiatives by retailers’ associations, which the City Council offers funding mechanisms for: on one hand, through subsidies, and on the other, through the possibility of the City Council directly contracting the installation of Christmas lights. This means associations do not need to contribute with funds until the installation is finished.
