Barça and Òmnium raise awareness about the campaign to use Catalan in sport
The Spotify Camp Nou will be the stage this Sant Jordi Sunday for both the LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid and a series of initiatives forming part of the L'esport treu la llengua campaign by Òmnium Cultural and the UFEC. The major sports clubs in Catalonia, as well as over sixty federations, have already subscribed and are actively collaborating.
The most visible action for all those in the stadium will be the unfurling of a large mosaic with the message “Comparteix el català” in huge letters with the colours of the senyera in the background when the players come out to the Barça anthem, part of the campaign to promote the use of Catalan in sport.
The campaign manifesto will also be read before the match, when the vice-president of Òmnium, Mònica Terribas, and the athlete, Núria Picas, will go out onto the Spotify Camp Nou pitch to read the text that endorses using Catalan in sport. The document is available through https://esportencatala.cat/.
The scoreboard screen will also premiere the campaign's spot featuring a number of leading sportspeople, including a male and female footballer from FC Barcelona. It will call on every club, sportsperson, coach, family, and fan to join the campaign.
As soon as the installation's gates open and on the esplanades outside the Spotify Camp Nou, there will be five stands where you can join the campaign, with Òmnium Cultural volunteers encouraging fans to sign the manifesto and join in with promoting the use of Catalan in sport.
A joint commitment to encourage using Catalan
FC Barcelona and Òmnium Cultural, two of the entities with highest memberships and a historical commitment to Catalonia and the language, are using these initiatives to raise awareness since their formed their alliance last May. The signing of the agreement to collaborate for four years was to drive, spread, and encourage the use of Catalan, Catalan culture, social cohesion, and civil and political rights. “Both entities working together on promotional activities, initiatives and shared actions is essential”, assured presidents Xavier Antich and Joan Laporta when they signed the collaboration agreement in May 2022.
Both presidents met today at the Spotify Camp Nou to discuss and officially present the activities that will take place on Sunday.
Joan Laporta, FC Barcelona president: “We will again join forces on this Sant Jordi Sunday at the Spotify Camp Nou to encourage the use of Catalan in sport and particularly among the younger generations. We are both on the same page and like to collaborate as entities. We share cultural, sporting, and political objectives, and Barça's commitment to Catalonia leads us to collaborate with the most important entity for Catalan culture”.
Xavier Antich, Òmnium Cultural president: "Sport, language, and culture are three pillars in Catalonia, so collaborating to promote them is vitally important. We have been working on a number of actions for months that are now coming to fruition. We are strongly committed to the major challenge of encouraging the social use of Catalan, and to defending civil and political rights in Catalonia. The action in Spotify Camp Nou is a taster of the strength of the unity and collaboration between both entities".
Sunday's initiative kicks off a series of joint projects between both entities to encourage using Catalan in sport and among the younger generations, as well as social cohesión through the language and sport. There is also the commitment to support initiatives in civil society and institutions in favour of Catalan sport, teams representing Catalonia, and international recognition.
The senyera jersey and other activities
To commemorate such an important date in Catalan culture as Sant Jordi Day, the FC Barcelona men's team will wear their fourth senyera strip for the match against Atlético Madrid.
Every collaborative action with Òmnium Cultural on Sunday will be completed with a series of Club organised activities before the match, during half-time, and after the match.
Half-time will see the Catalan group The Tyets perform their song "Coti x Coti" on the pitch, which has popularised and shone a spotlight on the traditional Sardana dance among a younger audience. The group Figa Flawas will perform live on the North Goal esplanade pre-match, along with DJ Uri Mora playing 100% Catalan music from the balcony of the Barça Store both before and for an hour after the game. DJ Ferry Lip and MC Pol Corredoira will be inside the stadium to build the pre-match atmosphere.
The activities will be completed with a photocall on the Tribune esplanade, with a giant Barça crest and a senyera, with all those having a photo taken receiving a rose until stocks last.