The Basque Country and Catalonia are at divergent points regarding public viewing of the Spanish national team. Bilbao stands as the main stronghold that prefers to avoid giant screens to watch the World Cup final, while Barcelona will have a designated place for it. The regions, however, depend heavily on the party in government when deciding whether to enable a public space for their citizens to watch the match on the street.
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The mayor of Bilbao Juan María Aburto (PNV) has prevented one of Spain’s most football-loving cities from vibrating with the football team led by the former rojiblanco Luis de la Fuente and featuring Unai Simon, Aymeric Laporte, and Nico Williams. “I requested the mayor to set up a screen because I understand it is an opportunity for the city and many Bilbainos are followers of La Roja, but a screen will not be set up,” lamented Bilbao’s deputy mayor, Nora Abete (PSE-EE), revealing Aburto’s refusal.
However, it will be the Basque PP that compensates for Aburto’s disdain, and the party led in Euskadi by Javier de Andrés will set up a screen in Doña Casilda park, just meters from the Guggenheim Museum and the Iberdrola Tower, two symbols of the Biscayan capital.
Aburto’s refusal aligns with the disdainful statements towards the Spanish national team by PNV leaders headed by their president Aitor Esteban. However, the young mayor of San Sebastián Jon Insausti (PNV) has responded to the request of the socialist councilors of the municipal team, and Spain fans will have a giant screen next to the Anoeta Stadium.
Vitoria as well—with socialist mayor Maider Etxebarria—will facilitate football fans sharing the World Cup final next Sunday. The Vitoria City Council already set up a giant screen in Santa Bárbara square for the semifinal against France but has decided to relocate it to Plaza de España, the heart of the Álava capital, for the upcoming Sunday.
Additionally, La Roja will also be supported on Basque streets in Irún and Eibar, two municipalities with socialist mayors. In Getxo, the popular spokesperson Eduardo Andrade formalized the request this morning, but the silence of Amaia Agirre (PNV) suggests that no public space will be enabled to watch the final on the street.
A final that will indeed be enjoyed in Pamplona’s Plaza del Castillo, where four giant screens will be installed to broadcast the match in a format similar to 360 degrees. Pamplona, still recovering from the Sanfermines, ruled out organizing screens for the semifinal because it practically overlapped with the Pobre de mí and there were not enough police forces to guarantee the safety of thousands of fans.
The mayor Joseba Asiron of EH Bildu confirmed this morning that the four screens in Plaza del Castillo will broadcast Spain’s final in a city that has vibrated with the goals and celebrations of Pamplona’s own Mikel Merino. Tudela, with mayor Alejandro Toquero (UPN), already celebrated Spain’s victory over France with a giant screen party and will maintain it for next Sunday’s final.
Catalonia
The Spanish national team has also unleashed a wave of enthusiasm in Catalonia, much to the nationalist’s displeasure, where many young people have taken to the streets these days after each victory of the national team. In response to this mobilization, the Barcelona city council will set up a giant screen to watch the World Cup final that La Roja will play on Sunday. It will be 8×5 meters, and the City Council will install it on Martí i Franquès street, at the height of Baldiri i Reixac street, in the Les Corts neighborhood of the Catalan capital.
For security reasons, access with alcoholic beverages or glass bottles will not be allowed. The organization will open the space’s doors from 7 p.m., two hours before the match, and there will be games and music. At 8:30 p.m., the pre-match coverage can be followed. From 9:00 p.m., the scheduled start time of the World Cup final, the live broadcast from TVE will be connected.
A celebration that will be replicated in several cities in the metropolitan area and the province of Barcelona with a red-marked point on the map: Mataró, the city of Lamine Yamal, where thousands of people already gathered to watch the semifinal against France in Parc Central de Mataró, next to Rocafonda.
There will also be giant screens in various municipalities such as Santa Coloma, Gavà, Badalona, Castelldefels, Sabadell, Tarragona, Sant Feliu, El Prat de Llobregat, or Cornellà, all in large squares, parks, or open-air spaces.
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