Last night of La Mercè finishes without mass parties

BarcelonaWhether it was because it was a Sunday, because the subway closed at midnight or because people were just too hungover, the fact is last night of La Mercè festival has been the quietest of all. The firework display put an end to a festival that will be remembered for the mass illegal parties, two of which were very eventful: the one on Friday night at the Plaça Espanya and the one on Saturday night at Bogatell beach. Yet Sunday night was a lot calmer.

In spite of the fact that hundreds of people of all the ages gathered on Maria Cristina avenue to watch the fireworks display, half an hour after it finished, the police cleared the area peacefully. They asked loitering young people to leave with the excuse that the avenue had to be cleaned. There were no clashes with the police and people went home. Earlier on, riot police had cordoned off Plaça Espanya to prevent another illegal party.

As for the beach of Bogatell, this Sunday at midnight it was almost empty. In the sand there were a few groups who headed home soon afterwards, and some couples walked along the promenade. Police vehicles patrolled the area but did not have to intervene because, unlike the three previous nights, there were no crowds, no fights and no looting. The officers did not patrol on foot, although there were several riot police vans on the ready in case.