Cultural facilities will be able to open to 70% of capacity as of 24 May

ReusTheaters, concert halls, cinemas, museums, libraries and exhibition halls will be able to open with 70% of the capacity from 24 May onwards. This has been announced by the Minister of Health, Alba Vergés, at a press conference this Friday to report on the state of the pandemic in Catalonia. It also extends the limit of attendees to theaters and concert halls: the maximum number of spectators will be 1,000 indoors and 3,000 outdoors or in rooms with reinforced ventilation, provided they are separated in cohabitation bubbles. Since October 2020, cultural venues have been working with a 50% capacity limit and a maximum of 1,000 people seated outdoors and 500 people seated indoors.

Despite this increase in seating capacity, theatres, cinemas and concert halls will have to end their activities before 11 p.m., a measure that was implemented just after the end of the curfew. Alongside these changes, the safety measures in place since the theatres reopened during the pandemic will remain in place: masks will be compulsory for spectators, seats will have to be pre-assigned and breaks during the performance will have to be avoided. The ban on physical handbills and the recommendation that tickets be purchased online will also remain in place.

Extension of opening times and seating capacity in other areas

The Minister of Health, Alba Vergés, has announced that from 24 May Catalonia will also allow congresses to be held without the express authorisation of Procicat and will extend the capacity of shops and universities by up to 50%. If the improvement of the epidemiological evolution continues, the same day the Government plans to expand the capacity in enclosed spaces and authorise bars and restaurants to open at six in the morning, when until now they could only open from half past seven in the morning.