Filling the Sink

Pyrenees-Barcelona Winter Olympics 2030 – to bid or not to bid?

Catalonia is divided over a potential bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Pyrenees and Barcelona, with differing opinions on climate and sustainability, sporting facilities, development and infrastructure, and, of course, costs. We hear the arguments for – from Mònica Bosch, president of the Catalan Winter Sports Federation and Gerard Esteva, president of the Catalan Sports Federations Union (UFEC) – and against – from Pau Lozano, a spokesperson for Stop Olympic Games and Ferran Canudas, president of the Group in Defense of Nature in Berguedà. Cillian Shields and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to discuss everything we know about the bid so far. This week's Catalan phrase is 'paper mullat', literally 'wet paper'. It can refer to a document, agreement etc that ends up not being worth anything.  

Bofill, Bohigas and more – the architects who sculpted contemporary Catalonia

Cristina Tomàs White and Gerard Escaich Folch join Lorcan Doherty to remember two giants in the world of Catalan architecture that passed away recently: Ricardo Bofill and Oriol Bohigas.
They discuss their legacy and that of some other leading figures from recent decades that have made their mark on Barcelona and around the world.
Guifré Jordan is one of thousands to pay tribute to Bofill at his Sant Just Desvern workshop.
Stefanie Herr and Lorenzo Kárász from Guiding Architects Barcelona take us on a tour of 22@, the former industrial zone in Barcelona that's been transformed into a design and innovation hub.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'enlloc com a casa', which means 'no place like home'. 
Get in touch! fillingthesink@acn.cat 

Going underground – exploring the hidden world of subterranean Barcelona

Guifré Jordan and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to discover what lies beneath the streets of the Catalan capital. We go to a Civil War air raid shelter with local historian Josep Contel, learn about ghost metro stations and abandoned underground shopping centers from CultRuta tour guide Manuel Marina, and visit Barcelona's water control center and a giant water depository beneath Parc de Joan Miró. Architect Rosina Vinyes, director of urban planning in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, explains how the urban subsoil is essential for daily life. This week's Catalan phrase is 'pou sense fons', literally 'bottomless well', it's used when things continue going wrong with no end in sight. Get in touch: fillingthesink@acn.cat

Saturation point? – Development versus conservation on the Catalan coast

The Catalan coast is 580km of sandy beaches, hidden coves and pine forests, but also homes, hotels and everything else needed for people to live and work in coastal towns or spend their holidays by the sea. This week we look at a debate that's raged for decades in Catalonia: the balance between new urban development and conservation along the shore. Agustí Serra, the government's director of urban planning, and Dirk Ewers from International Friends of the Costa Brava talk to Cristina Tomàs White. Gerard Escaich Folch travels to Sitges and speaks to Eduard Terrado, the councilor responsible for urban planning, and Daniel Gracia, manager of Tomás Gracia Constructions. This week's Catalan phrase is 'tela marinera', which literally means 'marine fabric', but can be used to express surprise at the size, cost, difficulty etc. of something. Presented by Lorcan Doherty. 

The NIE nightmare – foreigners forced towards dodgy dealings to get ID cards

Residency red tape is all too familiar for foreigners moving to Catalonia, but an increasingly broken system is forcing many to pay over the odds to obtain the requisite documentation. Cristina Tomàs White and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to investigate what is going on with NIE (Foreigner Identity Number) and TIE (Foreigner Identity Card) appointments. Skye, Zach, Antonia, Daria, Rupert and Leslie share their Kafkaesque attempts to navigate Spanish bureaucracy. We ask Carlos Prieto Gómez, a representative of the Spanish government in Barcelona, why getting appointments is so difficult and what is being done to improve things. This week's Catalan phrase, or rather, word, is pocavergonya, which means shameless. 

20 years of the euro

Exactly 20 years ago, euro coins and banknotes came into circulation, on January 1, 2002. Guifré Jordan and Gerard Escaich Folch join Lorcan Doherty to take a look back at the switch over from pesetas, remember them? We hear the opinions of Pedro Aznar from Esade Business School and Xavier Ferrer from the Catalan Economists' Association on whether the euro has been good for Catalonia. Shoppers in Barcelona tell us what they remember about the old currency. This week's Catalan phrase is 'la pela és la pela', it means 'money talks' or 'business is business'; 'la pela' is a nickname for the peseta but the phrase is still used today. 

Catalonia‘s flourishing craft beer scene

Catalonia may be known for its cava but it's actually home to over 100 craft beer breweries making over 1000 different craft beers. Guifré Jordan and Cillian Shields join Lorcan Doherty to take a look at the industry, which is going from strength to strength while still keeping its sense of close-knit community. We take a tour of the Cervesa del Montseny brewery – one of Catalonia's leading producers of artisanal beer – and sample the atmosphere at Barcelona Beer Festival, back for the first time since before the pandemic. Instead of a Catalan phrase, we've got a set of words to help you order just the right amount of your favorite craft beer – quinto, canya, canyeta, mitjana and gerra. 

Sagrada Família – one step closer towards its (tricky) completion

The Sagrada Família is an icon of Barcelona. Tourists flock to Gaudí's basilica in their millions every year, but not everyone in Barcelona is so enamored with it. In the week that a new 12-point star crowning the tower of the Virgin Mary was lit up for the first time, Cillian Shields and Gerard Escaich Folch join Lorcan Doherty to chat about the building's history and architecture, as well as the controversies it has generated. Tour guide Onno Schoemaker explains the symbolism wrapped up in this 'bible of stone'. Salvador Barroso of People Affected by the Construction of the Sagrada Família relays his fears that the church's expansion plans could see him lose his home. This week's Catalan phrase is 'ser de bona fusta', literally 'to be of good wood'. It means to be a strong, healthy person. 

Sixth wave – Covid certificate FAQs, travel rules, Omicron and Xmas forecast

Dr Magda Campins – chair of Catalonia's Covid-19 Scientific Advisory Committee and head of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona – on the Omicron variant, booster shots and why Christmas office parties should be avoided. Lorcan Doherty, Cristina Tomàs White and Guifré Jordan discuss the profile of a sixth wave patient, the latest travel rules, and FAQs from residents and tourists on the use of Covid certificates in cafes, bars and restaurants. This week's Catalan phrase is 'cada dos per tres'. It means something that happens very frequently.

Catalan language under threat? – school and streaming woes

Catalan is a vibrant, living language with 10 million speakers and a history stretching back to the Middle Ages, but statistics show a decline in use and language activists say it needs more protection, not least in classrooms and on online streaming platforms.
Guifré Jordan and Gerard Escaich Folch join Lorcan Doherty to discuss recent developments affecting the language, including a Supreme Court ruling on Catalan-medium education.
Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, president of the European Language Equality Network, and Òscar Escuder, president of Plataforma per la Llengua (Platform for the Language), give their views on the social, political and technological challenges.
This week's Catalan phrase is 'clar i català', or 'clear and Catalan'. It means to say something frankly and concisely. 

Barcelona Zoo – research or recreation, conservation or captivity?

Founded in 1892, Barcelona Zoo is part of the fabric of the city. But what should its role be in the 21st century? The zoo's director, Antoni Alarcón, and zookeeper Núria Moreno Gutiérrez, argue that zoos are essential for protecting biodiversity, but animal rights activist Rosi Carro of the ZooXXI group says that more changes are urgently needed. Norbert Bilbeny, ethics professor at the University of Barcelona gives his view of how the relationship between humans and animals should be. Cristina Tomàs White and Gerard Escaich Folch join Lorcan Doherty to discuss the past, present and future of the zoo. This week's Catalan phrase is 'a pas de tortuga', literally 'at a turtle's pace', it's used to describe something that moves very slowly! 

Four-day week and working from home – the post-Covid future of work?

The Covid-19 pandemic completely changed the world of work. Working from home became the norm for many, but is it here to stay? And has the time come for an even bigger change: after 100 years of Monday to Friday, is it time for a four-day working week? Guifré Jordan and Aina Martí join Lorcan Doherty to discuss the future of work, including a report on Desigual, where employees recently voted for a four-day work week. Xavier Güell, Managing Director of CBRE Barcelona, explains how offices are changing. This week's Catalan phrase is 'a empentes i rodolons', literally something like 'by pushes and rolls', it's means to achieve something after overcoming obstacles or difficulties.