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Piotr, 26, has arrived in Barcelona from Poland with his pockets full and wanting to have fun. It is the second time he attends the Catalan Primavera Sound: last year he was in the two weekends in which the festival was held without missing a day. On that occasion, he and his friends bought the VIP season ticket – it is clear that they had no money problems then or now – but for this edition they have decided on the normal weekend pass, without extras. After the experience of 2019 they considered that it was not worth paying more. For this weekend he says that "I have no spending limit".

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Music.

Primavera Sound: Blur, New Order, Halsey and the best concerts of Day 1

  • Writing: CARMEN LÓPEZ Barcelona
  • Editor: PABLO GIL Barcelona

Primavera Sound: Blur, New Order, Halsey and the best concerts of Day 1

Music.

Primavera Sound: from indie festival for 8,000 people to global franchise

  • Editor: PABLO GIL São Paulo

Primavera Sound: from indie festival for 8,000 people to global franchise

It's still Wednesday and it's not even dark, but Piotr is already prepared for whatever comes with a glass in his hand, a crossed fanny pack and a colorful hat that reveals him as a festival-goer with tradition. At the moment, he has spent about 800 euros between what the subscription has cost, the flight (he does not specify the amount) and the stay. He is sharing an apartment rented through Airbnb near the Sagrada Familia along with seven other people for which they will pay a total of 3,000 euros, that is, 375 each. To those 800 euros we must add what he will invest in food and drink during the four days of the festival, in which he plans to see Pet Shop Boys, Calvin Harris, Kendrick Lamar and, above all others, Fred Again ... "We missed it last year and we can't wait to see it," he says with a smile.

Emmanuelle and Bryan are each 32 and are also fans of the London musician. In fact, they are from the same city and have traveled for the first time to Primavera Sound to see it although in their list of favorites are also Yard Act, Kendrick Lamar, Skrillex and Depeche Mode. They access the event with a weekend pass and calculate that they will spend about 200 euros each during the four days of the festival, although they have not made the calculation in detail and do not want to, although, with those data, they must have a budget of 500 euros, more or less. They prefer to let themselves go and how far the money goes.

That amount estimated by the English is much lower than what Anna has planned, a 49-year-old radio journalist who has traveled from Cologne, in Germany, to come to the festival for the second time (she was in the 2019 edition). She has opted for the VIP weekend pass to see Fred Again... One of the unofficial headliners, apparently in this small survey. He also wants to attend concerts by "Blur, Depeche Mode and Arlo Parks, of course." He attends the event with his partner, who approaches to specify that, between the subscription, the trip, the hotel and the food and drink, each one will spend, he calculates, about 2,000 euros.

Yei, is 34 years old and is in the Forum with Jonathan, 39 years old. She is a photographer and he is a graphic designer and they come to Costa Rica. Their initial travel plan was to stay in Barcelona only for the festival but as soon as they arrived they decided to extend their stay in the Catalan capital and then go through Madrid and Portugal. They have the normal weekend pass and are staying in an apartment in the center of Barcelona also booked through Airbnb, for which they have paid 1,000 euros for six days of stay. Each plane ticket has cost them about 1,300 euros, so plus the 325 euros (plus taxes) of the subscription and the 500 that each one pays for accommodation, they have spent more than 2,000 euros to which we will have to add food, drink and transport within Barcelona.

"We wanted to see our West Indian Villain performing on an international stage," says Soribel. He is 43 years old and is from Puerto Rico, although he has come to Barcelona from Iceland. With her travels her friend Camelia, who is the same age. They say, laughing, that they do not want to make the sum of the expenses that attending Primavera Sound will entail but they estimate that it will be about 1,200 euros. They have the normal weekend pass, the plane ticket has been worth about 200 euros and they are staying in a hostel that costs them around 60 euros a night. To that they add the drink, food and transportation but consider that it is money well spent if with it they can see their aforementioned idol and "Tokisha, Rosalia, PinkPantheress, Pusha T, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. All the headliners and, of course, the Latino Latino artists."

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