Sport on the beach
Barcelona City Council approves a mayoral decree establishing measures for regulating and arranging the use of sports on Barcelona’s beaches as an implementation of the measures provided for under the Blau Pavilion project.
The city’s beaches, as social places for leisure and sport, provide many ecosystem services with physical and mental health benefits for the population, as well as being key in the protection of the coast in the context of the climate emergency.
One of the main ways people use our beaches is without a doubt for sport, a use that has been increasing in recent years. However, the increased use of the coastal area for this purpose is in contrast with the decrease in available beach area. This has led to the need to plan the intensive use of coastal areas for sports in an orderly manner and with a gender perspective to ensure that it is carried out properly and without interfering with other uses. This is the aim of this decree.
The decree regulates the various sports activities and necessary documents and establishes the specific requirements to carry them out, with a distinction between low, medium and high bathing seasons.
Surfing
Surfing is allowed on Barcelona’s beaches although, during the mid and high bathing seasons, it is only allowed outside the swimming area exclusively for swimmers shown by buoys. Kitesurfing is not allowed in the swimming areas of Barcelona’s beaches between 1 June and 30 September.
Fishing
Fishing is allowed on every beach all year round, but only at specified times in the high swimming season.
FREE sports activities (permit application not required)
Non-organised free activities are allowed all year round but, during the high and mid seasons, they may only be carried out in the designated areas.
ORGANISED sports activities (Permit application required)
These are sports activities that are carried out on the sand and organised by federated athletes or entities registered in the register of federations or the census of organisers of sports activities and activities linked to international events or events of interest for the city.