Montserrat Ballarín, Commercial Advisor of Barcelona, in collaboration with the Amics de La Rambla association, has announced the illumination scheduled for the upcoming pre-holiday period. Since Ada Colau’s inauguration as the city mayor, the holiday light illumination has begun with the districts peripheral to the city center. However, this year the plan is to begin with the city center, namely with Las Ramblas, because those affected by “the 17th of August will stay in our hearts forever.” The Christmas lights will be a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks. Moreover, the administration has emphasized that these lights will demonstrate the city administration’s gratitude towards “all those restaurants and shops, and all those working and living on Las Ramblas, who acted like real heroes on the 17th of August.”
Fermín Villar, the President of the Amics de la Rambla, expressed his sincere gratitude for this initiative. He also reminded us that after the 17th of August, the number of tourists visiting Las Ramblas has dropped significantly. Nowadays, most of the people seen here are city residents. Hence, shop owners are attempting to adjust to the changes still, and the sales volumes have not yet returned to the usual levels.