The canoeist Saúl Craviotto (Alpicat, 1984) gave the opening speech for Lleida's May Festivities on Friday behind closed doors due to the rejection of his choice by a part of civil society. Basically because Craviotto, the Spanish athlete with the most Olympic medals – with six –, was already a National Police agent before becoming a sports icon and positioned himself against the referendum and in favor of the application of Article 155, endorsing the police repression of October 1st. With this background, about twenty parties and entities unsuccessfully requested that a substitute be found, but the mayor Fèlix Larrosa retorted that he was "an example of values".