As we have mentioned previously in our blog, sunny Barcelona is gearing up for the festive season, thought the weather outside is far from Christmassy at the moment! Yesterday the Barcelona Trade Foundation opened the ice rink in Plaza Catalunya. In recent years this has become a regular part of Christmas in Barcelona, and has been enjoyed by locals and visitors to the city alike.
Dubbed BarGelona (gel is Catalan for ice), the skating rink is open to the public from today, Friday, November 21 and will remain open until Sunday the 11th of January 2015.
BarGelona is run by the Barcelona Trade Foundation as a contribution to the Christmas atmosphere of the city. As well as creating some festive fun, Christmas is of course the year’s biggest shopping event and this is a way to stimulate spending in the nearby shops on Passeig de Gràcia and El Portal Del Angel.
This year will be BarGelona´s fourth edition, and this year new features include an emphasis on construction from sustainable materials, and a winter sports program.
The latter is linked to the Barcelona-Pyrenees bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Though Barcelona is not typically associated with winter sports, the Pyrenees are just two hours from the city.
