The reduction, ordered by the Barcelona City Council, means that from that date onwards there can only be a maximum of 32,000 people on the beach. The members of the Guardia Urbana are in charge of controlling access and preventing the maximum number of bathers from being exceeded. If the capacity is exceeded, the Guardia may close the beach.
Usually the capacity of the beaches is 38,000 to 40,000 people. By reducing access by 15%, this leaves an access authorization for only 32,000 bathers.
The decision was made in conjunction with the rest of the metropolitan municipalities that have beaches and have been affected by the recent containment measures to prevent further Covid-19 infections.
Eloi Badia, Barcelona’s Councilor for Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition, told a press conference that the measure is to be applied immediately and is intended to prevent queues from forming to access the zones.
He added that a system is in place to control capacity and ensure compliance with the restriction. The idea is to prevent locals from going to nearby beaches in other municipalities.
All access to the beaches is controlled by videosensors, a task that is supported by the work carried out by municipal informers. They are in charge of redistributing bathers to ensure that they maintain the proper distance between them. Thanks to the controls last month the Guardia Urbana closed the beaches for overcrowding.
Each municipality should also take the necessary control measures, as should the general public. The idea is that people seek to comply with the protocols and go to the beaches at different times to avoid crowds at peak times (from Friday to Sunday between 16h and 20h).
Citizen responsibility
The City Council reminds citizens to maintain the minimum safe distance between people (1.5 meters between groups) and before going to the beaches, check the occupancy level of the same.
You can check the information about the capacity of the beaches through the App “Infoplatges” that informs the occupancy status of the beaches of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. The application also provides data on the weather, sea conditions, public transportation, services, among others.
At barcelona.cat/plages, you can also check the occupancy of the beaches in real time. Information on the beaches of the municipalities of Castelldefels, Gavà, El Prat, Barcelona, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Badalona and Montgat is recorded there.
The level of beach occupancy is marked with colors: red, orange or green for beaches with high, medium or low swimmers, respectively. The main objective is to avoid reaching the maximum number of bathers.
