Pablo Alborán, La Ludwig Band, Los Catarras or Manolo García, on the La Marató album

BarcelonaThe first edition of La Marató de TV3 was held at Christmas 1992, dedicated to leukemia research and raising €1,230,128. This December 14th will mark the 34th edition, focused on raising awareness and promoting cancer research, one of the leading causes of death in Catalonia and worldwide. This year, the televised gala will be hosted by Ramon Pellicer, presenter of... Newscast The campaign aired on TV3 weekends until September of that year. The presentation took place at the Bellesguard Tower and was attended by various prominent figures and individuals who will make the program possible, such as Lluís Bernabé, director of La Marató, who explained that this initiative exists "because every half hour someone dies of cancer." He also expressed his gratitude to all the organizations, entities, media outlets, and individuals who contribute to this edition.

The slogan chosen for this campaign is "Detect it, fix it." This aims to highlight the importance of early detection and prevention of this disease. Núria Bargas, business and marketing director of 3Cat, and Camil Roca, CEO of K1000 Collaborative and creative advisor for this campaign, explained the purpose of the campaign and its focus this year: "Detecting it early can make all the difference." Roca explained that they drew a parallel with this "uncontrolled proliferation of cells," so pixels will appear on the screens, obstructing vision, as a metaphor for malignant cells when they begin to multiply. The television spot shows a family where the father starts feeling unwell and is diagnosed with cancer. With the support of his family, however, he recovers his normal life.

One of the things that makes La Marató special is the collaboration between musicians, which is featured on the album. Last year, renowned artists such as Estopa, Mushka, Chenoa, Suu, Miki Núñez, and Rozalén, among others, participated. This year, the participating musicians include Pablo Alborán, Manolo García, Alfred García, Mala Rodríguez, Antonio Orozco, Ana Torroja, and bands such as La Ludwig Band, Los Catarras, Blaumut, and Alérgicas en el Polen. The album will be available for purchase on November 30th with the ARA newspaper, and also at newsstands or digitally on Apple Music. Angel Lacalle – the driving force behind La Marató's album – mentioned that a limited edition will be available at the TV3 store. "This album is a cry of hope; it aims to break the silence," he stated.

As in previous years, La Marató is organizing various activities to maximize fundraising. One of these is the celebrity match, which this year will be played in Vic. Gerard Romero, a journalist for many years at RAC1 and currently a streamer who follows FC Barcelona and the latest sports news on Twitch, will be providing commentary and narration for the event. He is also the president of one of the teams in the Kings League, Gerard Piqué's league. The program will feature interviews with various personalities, including Ricky Rubio, Pedro Dalmau, Julia Otero, and Pablo Alborán, the singer from Málaga who is featured on La Marató's album. Last year, 17,000 people died from cancer in Catalonia, and 42,851 new cases were diagnosed, according to data from the Catalan Health Department. Thanks to research and investigation of this disease, much progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go. In Catalonia, one in two men will develop cancer, and one in three women. This disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The first edition of the charity event dedicated to cancer research was held in 1994, raising €3,035,331. Ten years later, the event focused on this disease again and more than doubled the previous year's figure, reaching €8,712,000. In Christmas 2012, cancer was chosen once more for research, and it was the first time the psychological barrier of ten million euros was surpassed, with €12,387,634 raised. The last time La Marató was dedicated to cancer was in 2018, raising €15,068,252, a record that has yet to be broken. The money raised during the campaign is used to fund various research projects and teams. Since its inception, more than 108,000 informational sessions on diseases have been held, and 1,048 projects and 1,762 research teams have been funded. Since 2006, the Foundation has issued a public call for proposals on diseases, allowing patient associations, their families, research institutions, and the scientific and healthcare professional communities to choose the program's theme. Projects are submitted through this call, and once reviewed, they are sent to the Catalan Agency for Health Quality and Assessment (AQUAS), part of the Department of Health, which manages the evaluation process.