If Spaniards like something, it is gathering together. Discussing the possible lineup before the match, preparing snacks without missing the beer, and celebrating goals hugging the friend next to you. But, of all the days on the calendar, there is one in which all this will be experienced with special intensity. That day is today. Since last Tuesday at 11:00 p.m., all of Spain has been planning where to watch the World Cup final today.
With the intention of reliving that night in South Africa 16 years ago, town halls, autonomous communities, and institutions across the country are enabling spaces for fans to gather and experience the match together. Madrid has been gathering fans in Plaza de Colón since the start of the championship. Turned into the epicenter of red (and white) jerseys, the City Council of the capital has decided to expand the device planned so far. The screen installed by the Federation will remain, but it will not be the only one. Additionally, a second screen will be installed facing Génova Street to increase capacity from 6,000 to 20,000 people.
Although the big novelty will be the Movistar Arena. The Community of Madrid will project the final there, although tickets sold out the same day they went on sale. In just one hour, the 15,000 seats had already been reserved. One more sign, if it was needed, of the excitement and eagerness with which fans await the big event. The Nassica shopping center in Getafe, the Parque Warner, and many municipalities in Madrid will also join the event with giant screens and spaces enabled to follow the match. Although there is an exception, as always. Of the 11 cities in the Community of Madrid with more than 100,000 inhabitants, Rivas-Vaciamadrid is the only one that will not install a screen to follow the final.
“There is no need or demand”
But if the controversy has arisen anywhere in particular, it has been far from the capital. Last Friday, the mayor of Vitoria, Maider Etxebarria, appeared at a press conference wearing La Roja. In the Basque capital, the final against Argentina will be the second match projected, this time in the city’s Plaza de España, where, just a few meters away, a gathering was called to demand the Euskal Selekzioa. They will also bet on bringing fans together in Pamplona, where EH Bildu governs, Barakaldo, Ermua, Irún, and Eibar. Very different are the intentions of its neighbor, Juan Mari Aburto. The mayor of Bilbao denied the installation of screens: “There is no need or demand.” Despite the mayor’s refusal, the Popular Party will place some screens on its own in Bilbao and in other cities such as San Sebastián or Badalona.
From north to east, the decisions of the town halls have differed. The streets of Barcelona will not be indifferent to the match. Although the City Council of the Catalan capital decided not to organize any broadcast for the match against France, a final is a final. This time, the match can be followed from the Marina del Fòrum platform, which will host fans to experience the big event together. And also along the Mediterranean coast, the Roig Arena and the Valencia City Hall Square will be some of the meeting points to follow the last match of the longest World Cup in history. An awaited final that will put the finishing touch on a tournament that already has its last chapter reserved.
The journey through Spain continues south. Andalusia will also dress in red. The main capitals will broadcast the match and gather their neighbors in the squares: Málaga, Jaén, Seville, Cádiz, Granada, Huelva, and Córdoba. All except Almería. The City Council of the city has decided to cancel the event planned in Plaza Vieja as a sign of respect after the fire in Los Gallardos, in which 13 people died.
But if any municipality will experience it with special passion, it will be Haro, the hometown of Luis de la Fuente. Just two years ago, 4,000 fellow townspeople of the coach gathered to celebrate the Eurocup title. Now, the city council demands even more support for this final, which comes 16 years later. The Riojan city will install two giant screens in the stadium that bears his name.
Tonight those nerves and tension will be felt again for a team that has allowed all of Spain to feel again what was first experienced in 2010. And today everyone will hug, no matter what happens, the friend they find next to them. The second star is at stake.
