Barcelona

The most magical night of the year is also an intense affair in terms of safety, fire prevention, cleaning and mobility. Sixteen bonfires are being organised in Barcelona, with a hundred booths selling fireworks and thousands of people celebrating. To ensure safety on the night, the City Council has been coordinating various action by the fire service and the city police. A special clean-up operation will also be in place and the metro and tram services will be operating all through the night.

The celebrations for Sant Joan are here. Barcelona City Council is organising a special operation to boost cleaning, mobility and safety and ensure that people enjoy the various festivities and bonfires in the neighbourhoods.

Cleaning at the beaches

The beaches are where the most people go to celebrate. Last year over 60,000 people went to the beaches for the occasion.

To minimise the effects of the celebrations, extra cleaning services are being laid on at the beaches, starting at 6.30 am on 24 June and involving 310 workers and 60 service vehicles. Some 2,500 cardboard bins will be set up for the occasion, along with 2,000 yellow bins for packaging, 500 for other types and 84 extra containers. The operation should mean the beaches are ready for use by bathers and visitors around 10 am on the morning of Sant Joan itself.

This year is the first year that waste bins with yellow bags (for collecting packaging waste separately) will be installed at all city beaches, as this waste category accounts for the largest amount of waste during this celebration. Separate waste collection was first implemented at the Bogatell and Nova Icària beaches last year, with packaging accounting for 65% of all waste.

Finally, in order to regain the use of public space in the entire city as soon as possible, a special clean-up operation will be rolled out with 50 teams and a total of 135 extra workers on top of regular cleaning services.

Barcelona City Council has started an awareness campaign at the beaches ahead of the celebrations for Sant Joan to draw people’s attention to the state of the beaches.

Extra police and firefighters

The Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue Service will be running a special operation to tackle any incidents with fire or fireworks, as well as responding to people’s needs all through the night of 23 June.

In the days leading up to the celebration, the city’s fire service has been inspecting premises selling fireworks and the 111 firework sales booths to ensure they meet safety measures. Inspections have also been carried out at the 16 bonfire sites so that there are no risks. Special attention is being given to the conditions under which this year’s nine new bonfires are lit. At the same time a public awareness campaign has been conducted, with prevention tips on the use of fireworks.

Services are also being bolstered at the emergency control centre and the 080 operator service on the night of the celebrations, providing support for people making emergency calls. Finally, the fire service will be stepping up its presence in the forest area to prevent potential fires.

The City Police will have an increased presence in places where celebrations take place, in places where people gather in large numbers, at the beaches and in the city centre, also keeping an eye on authorised fireworks sales points.

Public transport throughout the night on the eve of Sant Joan

The city’s public transport network will be handling the increase in mobility around the city on the night of the celebrations by laying on extra services.

• Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) will be operating the metro service all through the night. Trains will run from 5 am on Saturday 22 June through until midnight on 24 June (67 hours of uninterrupted service), with trains passing at intervals of 5 minutes on Line 4 (beaches) between 2 am and 6 am in the early hours of 24 June, and between 7 and 9 minutes on other lines. For more information check the service status on the TMB website.
• Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) trains will be running until 2 am on Monday, offering the same service levels as a Saturday night. Sunday services start at 5 am. Check times and routes on the FGC.cat website.
• Rodalies de Catalunya-Renfe trains will be running until 1 am on 24 June. Monday services start at 5 am. Check times and routes at gencat.cat.
• The TRAM will provide uninterrupted service all through the night: the Trambaix and Trambesòs services will be circulating from 5 am on Sunday 23 June until midnight on 24 June (43 hours of uninterrupted service). Trams will run at intervals of between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on the tram system.