What happens if there's a power outage during Barça-Inter?

BarcelonaThis Monday's widespread blackout It won't affect football. Barça and Inter Milan are scheduled to play the first leg of their Champions League semi-finals at Montjuïc this Wednesday (9 p.m., Movistar). With 48 hours, there's been enough time to restore power to all parts of the Iberian Peninsula and resolve any resulting issues. But this precedent is very recent, and almost everyone who goes to Montjuïc will be wondering what would happen if the same thing happened again mid-match. The answer is simple: as normal as possible.

In the past, there was always some match during the season that had to be suspended due to power outages. Today, this no longer happens, in part because UEFA changed the rules and required teams to have generators in their stadiums. "A power failure is not considered sufficient reason to suspend a match. For this reason, all stadiums must have an alternative source of supply to provide the necessary electricity in the event of a power outage or emergency shutdown," says the UEFA Quality Stadium Guidelines.

The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys wasn't designed to host football matches, but for a decade it was Espanyol's home ground. At that time, these regulations weren't in place. When Barça needed a site while the Camp Nou was being renovated, they considered Montjuïc, but the stadium didn't meet the vast majority of the requirements—neither for electricity, nor for changing rooms, press areas, or public spaces. VIP...–. Part of the 20 million euros allocated for the renovation went to this end. Large generators. "They're so powerful they could light up a small town," says BSM, the organization that manages municipal facilities. These are equipment that the Barcelona club already owned and that was moved two summers ago to the week where it will play next season.

Barça-Inter: What will happen if the power goes out?

If there is a power outage during Barça-Inter, or any other match, these generators would start up automatically. At most, there would be a few seconds between the power going out and the floodlights coming back on. In the past, this was a problem because the floodlights took a long time to come back on. The ones currently installed are practically instantaneous.

With "these two beasts," the stadium would operate normally and there would be enough power to illuminate the pitch, the interior of the stadium, ensure television broadcasts, and the operation of the VAR. The entrances, cameras, and the entire security system, according to BSM, would also be covered.

In the event that the outage occurred before kickoff, the generators would have enough power and autonomy to supply electricity for the entire match. But in this case, it would likely be suspended for reasons of public safety. This would no longer depend on Barça or the BSM, but on the competent authorities.