Special Global Update about current situation: no good news today

Since 2012 we have been publishing a 'Global Update' each fortnight to report the city's most relevant news in the areas we are focused on: talent attraction, economic activity, science, culture, tourism, entrepreneurship and social impact. There have been 98 Updates and over 3,000 pieces of good news that contribute to a sole objective: making Barcelona a true 'global city'.

We have proudly reported the arrival of Amazon, Nestlé’s Digital Hub, the opening of Hutchison's BEST terminal at the Port, and the new models or the production lines of SEAT. We have witnessed the birth of successful companies like Wallapop, Social Point, Typeform, Privalia, eDreams or SCYTL. We have seen how research centres such as ICFO, IRBB, CRG, VHIO, VHIR, ICN, IBEC or IBEI have developed frontiers of science. We have watched how the city has finally expanded its air connections with cities that once seemed much further away, like San Francisco, Miami, Singapore or Shanghai. We have celebrated the Mobile's decision to stay in Barcelona, and Sónar becoming one of the most important festivals in the world. Over just a few years, we have seen how large brands like Apple, Uniqlo and the Hotel Mandarin Oriental have chosen Barcelona as their city for expanding into the Spanish market. And finally, we have just received the best rating among the candidate cities aspiring to be the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency.

It has not been easy to get here. Building this reputation, the 'Barcelona brand' has taken decades, and it is something that we have all contributed to. Barcelona is a respected and admired city, and it is close to forming part of a select group of global cities.

That said, Barcelona is now going through one of its most delicate moments in recent history, and the news coming in are very negatives.

For this reason, the Global Update will not include any news as a sign of our concern for the current situation and how it is affecting our mission of making Barcelona one of the world's best cities for talent and economic activity.

We hope that Barcelona gets back to normal as soon as possible, and we are therefore calling on those responsible for this situation to take all possible measures to restore Barcelona’s image of a global, active city; a city that is open to talent, creativity and science. Because this is without a doubt what has allowed us to enjoy such extraordinary social, economic, cultural and scientific wealth, which should allow the next generations to be even stronger and more prosperous.