A “full house” was reported on the beaches of Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta for 45% of the daytime hours during July and August. During the swimming season from the 8th of April until the 30th of September, 4.5 million people visited the beaches in Barcelona. Additionally, the visitors generated 839,513 kilograms of trash, which is nevertheless 26% fewer than in the figures from last year. However, the quality of the seawater turned out to be worse and more polluted this year. 62.74 square meters of floating garbage were retrieved from the coastal waters – almost twice the amount of garbage since the year before. The frequent rainfalls and winds in Barcelona this summer also affected the overall situation negatively.
18,268 pets visited the dogs’ walking area in Llevant – a total of 5,000 more dogs than in the last year. Furthermore, as the Civil Guard reported, 3,241 people received the assistance of the rescue services along the beaches of Barcelona. It should be mentioned that 58 of those people were rescued from drowning.
Moreover, the city observed that there was greater space on the beaches of Somorrostro, Nova Icaria, and Nova Mar Bella – on average, the ratio was one person per 10 square meters. High levels of visiting also have not been registered at Bogatell or Mar Bella beaches this year.