Poble Espanyol, a 90-year-old theme park in Barcelona, Spain, is admired by Michael Eisner, Disney chair and chief executive of 21 years.
“Eisner did an interview with a Barcelona newspaper and said that he always visits Poble Espanyol when he’s in Barcelona,” says Anton Vidal, director general of the Catalan attraction. “For him, it’s the first theme park in the world and it inspired Disney and the theme park concept. Now, theme parks of course are very different, but the concept was born here.”
Poble Espanyol was established for the 1929 Barcelona International Expo to show the world the Spanish way of living. The idea was to build a town using different architectural styles of the area, such as Roman, Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque. The park’s creators visited 1,600 Iberian towns and villages looking for their inspiration. The site is also home to the Fran Daurel Museum, a contemporary art gallery with works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Joan Míro and other famed Spanish artists.
Invest in the future Poble Espanyol escaped being demolished after the World Fair and grew to be one of Spain’s best-loved attractions, recording almost 2 million visits in 2017.
Though its aim is to immerse guests in an environment that’s true to history, Vidal says it was important to invest in the future success of the attraction.
A 10-year improvement plan costing more than €10m ($11.4m) has just been completed with the opening of its final phase, a €2.3m state-of-the-art multimedia experience designed to throw visitors right into the thronging crowds of a vivid, noisy, vibrant, traditional Spanish fiesta.
“These modern installations are designed to show how people live now in the five regions of Spain, and through this we hope to explain the ‘Spanish soul’,” says Vidal. “For the Fiesta zone, we recorded 180 hours of footage at nine different fiesta locations over a whole year to create this visual spectacular. With the sound of the fiesta all around them and surrounded by the 10-metre-tall 4K screens, visitors will feel as though they’re in the middle of the Sanfermines in Pamlona or the Tomatina in Buñol, for example.”
The state-of-the-art multimedia installations were handled by Mediapro and bring a “dynamic and didactic” element to Poble Espanyol that’s both engaging and capable of evoking emotions. Two further areas have also been completed: a welcome zone with interactive touch screen technology, which introduces visitors to the history of the attraction and helps them plan their visit; and the Feeling Spain zone, which takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey across Spain.
“We also did not want to introduce too much multimedia and technology because we don’t want to compromise the feel of the park,” says Vidal. “You could put multimedia attractions anywhere but you cannot build a town like this.”
Aside from the new investments, Vidal keeps people coming back to Poble Espanyol by working with different partners to host a varied offer of events, such as the OFFSonar electronic music festival, Barcelona Marionettes Festival, Rock and Grill Festival and Biergarten festival.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
People profile: Anton Vidal
Anton Vidal is director general of Poble Espanyol which has completed a 10-year, €10m improvement plan
Interview: Coen Bertens
Fairytale theme park Efteling has
gone from strength to strength
during its 65-year history, enchanting
more visitors last year than
ever before. We talk to COO Coen
Bertens about its success
Promotional feature: EAS - Learning curves
This year’s Euro Attractions Show promises to
be the biggest in the history of the event, with
a brand new schedule of seminars to match
Aquariums: High Waters
We visited the brand new Aquatis
Aquarium-Vivarium in Switzerland
for a journey through our planet’s
freshwater environments
Promotional feature: nWave - The big picture
With more than two decades
of experience creating high quality
original content, nWave looks
ahead as it continues to produce
its own industry-leading creations
Analysis: TEA/AECOM Theme Index 2017
The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 shows major theme park
operators had an outstanding year, while stabilised global
economies and strong investment planning bodes well
for the global attractions industry going forward
Analysis: EMEA Focus
Margreet Papamichael, founder of CLEAR Associates about what The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 means for the EMEA region
Review: MuseumNext
Intellectuals from across the
museums sector gathered recently for
the European edition of MuseumNext
Theme parks: Playing the Looney Tune
As new and exciting leisure opportunities
increase in the Middle East, Yas
Island welcomes the US$1bn Warner
Bros World Abu Dhabi. We speak to
the two key members of the team
behind the landmark project
Museums: License to Thrill
A brand new James Bond visitor attraction,
nestled snugly inside a mountain peak
in Sölden, Austria, opened this July. We
talked to the operator and architect
Poble Espanyol, a 90-year-old theme park in Barcelona, Spain, is admired by Michael Eisner, Disney chair and chief executive of 21 years.
“Eisner did an interview with a Barcelona newspaper and said that he always visits Poble Espanyol when he’s in Barcelona,” says Anton Vidal, director general of the Catalan attraction. “For him, it’s the first theme park in the world and it inspired Disney and the theme park concept. Now, theme parks of course are very different, but the concept was born here.”
Poble Espanyol was established for the 1929 Barcelona International Expo to show the world the Spanish way of living. The idea was to build a town using different architectural styles of the area, such as Roman, Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque. The park’s creators visited 1,600 Iberian towns and villages looking for their inspiration. The site is also home to the Fran Daurel Museum, a contemporary art gallery with works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Joan Míro and other famed Spanish artists.
Invest in the future Poble Espanyol escaped being demolished after the World Fair and grew to be one of Spain’s best-loved attractions, recording almost 2 million visits in 2017.
Though its aim is to immerse guests in an environment that’s true to history, Vidal says it was important to invest in the future success of the attraction.
A 10-year improvement plan costing more than €10m ($11.4m) has just been completed with the opening of its final phase, a €2.3m state-of-the-art multimedia experience designed to throw visitors right into the thronging crowds of a vivid, noisy, vibrant, traditional Spanish fiesta.
“These modern installations are designed to show how people live now in the five regions of Spain, and through this we hope to explain the ‘Spanish soul’,” says Vidal. “For the Fiesta zone, we recorded 180 hours of footage at nine different fiesta locations over a whole year to create this visual spectacular. With the sound of the fiesta all around them and surrounded by the 10-metre-tall 4K screens, visitors will feel as though they’re in the middle of the Sanfermines in Pamlona or the Tomatina in Buñol, for example.”
The state-of-the-art multimedia installations were handled by Mediapro and bring a “dynamic and didactic” element to Poble Espanyol that’s both engaging and capable of evoking emotions. Two further areas have also been completed: a welcome zone with interactive touch screen technology, which introduces visitors to the history of the attraction and helps them plan their visit; and the Feeling Spain zone, which takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey across Spain.
“We also did not want to introduce too much multimedia and technology because we don’t want to compromise the feel of the park,” says Vidal. “You could put multimedia attractions anywhere but you cannot build a town like this.”
Aside from the new investments, Vidal keeps people coming back to Poble Espanyol by working with different partners to host a varied offer of events, such as the OFFSonar electronic music festival, Barcelona Marionettes Festival, Rock and Grill Festival and Biergarten festival.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
People profile: Anton Vidal
Anton Vidal is director general of Poble Espanyol which has completed a 10-year, €10m improvement plan
Interview: Coen Bertens
Fairytale theme park Efteling has
gone from strength to strength
during its 65-year history, enchanting
more visitors last year than
ever before. We talk to COO Coen
Bertens about its success
Promotional feature: EAS - Learning curves
This year’s Euro Attractions Show promises to
be the biggest in the history of the event, with
a brand new schedule of seminars to match
Aquariums: High Waters
We visited the brand new Aquatis
Aquarium-Vivarium in Switzerland
for a journey through our planet’s
freshwater environments
Promotional feature: nWave - The big picture
With more than two decades
of experience creating high quality
original content, nWave looks
ahead as it continues to produce
its own industry-leading creations
Analysis: TEA/AECOM Theme Index 2017
The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 shows major theme park
operators had an outstanding year, while stabilised global
economies and strong investment planning bodes well
for the global attractions industry going forward
Analysis: EMEA Focus
Margreet Papamichael, founder of CLEAR Associates about what The TEA/AECOM Report 2017 means for the EMEA region
Review: MuseumNext
Intellectuals from across the
museums sector gathered recently for
the European edition of MuseumNext
Theme parks: Playing the Looney Tune
As new and exciting leisure opportunities
increase in the Middle East, Yas
Island welcomes the US$1bn Warner
Bros World Abu Dhabi. We speak to
the two key members of the team
behind the landmark project
Museums: License to Thrill
A brand new James Bond visitor attraction,
nestled snugly inside a mountain peak
in Sölden, Austria, opened this July. We
talked to the operator and architect
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Global luxury hospitality brand, Six Senses, has partnered with longevity healthcare provider,
HUM2N, to launch a clinic at Six Senses London, at The Whiteley.
As part of its first hotel partnership, Mayrlife – the medical health resort company known for its
site in Altaussee, Austria – has launched a day clinic at the Rosewood Vienna.
Premium London health club, KX Chelsea, will imminently unveil its most significant
redevelopment since its launch in 2002 to create an integrated wellness model combining
training, recovery and relaxation.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth, on the northeast coast of Saint Barthélemy in the French
West Indies, is offering a programme of ocean-inspired yoga classes between 8-14 June to
celebrate Global Wellness Day (GWD).
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
The Ritz-Carlton, Langkawi, in Malaysia, has revealed a schedule for Global Wellness Day
(GWD) that includes guided rainforest walks, mindful movement and guided coastal meditation
experiences.
