Sitges’ carnival plan includes comprehensive security measures, plus special spaces for anyone experiencing aggression

Extraordinary Security Meeting of the Sitges Carnival 2025

During the carnival, Sitges expects to receive 250,000 visitors and will have nearly 3,000 participants. For this reason, a thousand personnel from security and emergency services will be on duty. The Sitges Carnival operation is considered the second most complex in Catalonia after the Mobile World Congress.

An Extraordinary Meeting to discuss security, chaired by the Mayor, Aurora Carbonell, and the Minister of the Interior and Public Health, Núria Parlon, was attended by the head of the Southern Metropolitan Region of the Mossos, Eduard Sallent, and the Director General of Security Administration, Joana Ricardo, among other authorities. Representatives of the police, health and emergency services also attended, to finalize the details of the operation on the occasion of the most crowded party of the year.

The objective of the deployment focuses on three main areas: working towards prevention, deploying a broad and coordinated patrol, and offering an immediate response to any incident to guarantee safety and the smooth running of the festival.

The Minister of the Interior and Public Health, Núria Parlon, explained that “the deployment of different teams aims to guarantee a safe Carnival for residents and visitors and to be a meeting place for enjoyment and economic dynamism”. Parlon stressed that “the teams are ready and it is important to highlight the importance of coordination between all security and emergency services. Everything is planned to provide a comprehensive response to the different risks that may arise during the celebration of Carnival”.

The mayor, Aurora Carbonell, added that “it is a very large team that works and very well coordinated. All police, emergency and health services are fully coordinated for the celebration of this very important event for Sitges.”

The Local Police, in addition to monitoring and controlling the streets and other events, will carry out several alcohol and other substance checks at the main entrances to the town. There will also be devices to control street vending and unauthorized bars. The breakwaters will be closed for greater safety for visitors. The chief inspector of the Local Police, Jordi Altarriba, recalled that “we have the Sitges Alert security app that allows users, in an emergency situation, to be geolocated just by pressing a button. For Carnival we will add a specific button, just like we did at the Film Festival”.

The Mossos d’Esquadra will activate the Citizen Security and Public Order Operation, with a special operational plan at the RENFE station and in the town centre, in coordination with the Local Police. They will launch the Special Housing Operational Plan and the Special Nightlife Operational Plan. In addition, they will use drones to control the influx and mobility of people and special vehicles that will provide images to the CECOR (Operational Coordination Center) from strategic points. The Mossos will have an Advanced Command Centre on the Passeig de la Ribera. The chief inspector of the ABP Garraf, Toni Santervas, explained that “this police operation is comprehensive on land, sea and water. We have many ground forces, the maritime police on the beach of La Ribera and the drone unit. Exceptionally, if necessary, the central helicopter unit will be incorporated, although it is not planned at the beginning, but they are ready to support us”.

Operational Coordination Center – CECOR

The telephone number for emergency calls is 112. The Operational Coordination Center (CECOR), which will be located at the Local Police Station, will be set up on Saturday nights (from 8pm to 6am), Sunday (from 6pm to 6am) and Tuesday (from 8pm to 6am). The objective of the CECOR is to speed up the response to emergencies that may occur in the municipality during the celebration.

Health services

SEM, Red Cross and Fire Department will be in charge of the health services during Carnival week. There will be teams and ambulances from the Red Cross, SEM and Fire Department at various points along the route. This year, and for the first time, the Red Cross Cycling Intervention Unit (UIC) is joining the operation. They are volunteers, with specific training, who travel on bicycles and with the necessary equipment to be able to quickly attend to incidents that may occur along the entire route of the parade, and provide prior assistance to the person in question to assess whether an ambulance needs to be sent. The Red Cross has four bicycles, two electric ones that will be located at La Fragata, to cover the arrival part of the parade, and two more at the end of Avenida Sofia, to cover the Passeig de la Ribera.

The reference hospital centres are the CAP of Sitges, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the Sant Camil hospital of Sant Pere de Ribes and the Sant Antoni Abad hospital of Vilanova, the Bellvitge hospital, and the Mental Health hospital of Sant Boi de Llobregat.

Renfe, for its part, is also providing a health care service at the station during the 3 key days: Saturday 1, from 10pm to 6am, Sunday 2 from 6.30pm to 6.30am and Tuesday 4 March also from 10pm to 6am.

Mobility during the Sitges Carnival 2025

On Carnival Sunday and Tuesday there will be traffic closures on Avinguda Sofia, from Avinguda de Vilanova to the Passeig Marítim, from 10 am, due to the children’s and adults’ parades. The floats will be parked on this section until the start time of each parade.

On Saturday (to Sunday morning), Sunday (to Monday morning), and Tuesday (to Wednesday morning) of Carnival, between 5 pm and 7 am, there will be traffic restrictions in Plaça Eduard Maristany and Calle Salvador Mirabent (station square area). This will affect the bus stops at the Renfe station and the taxi rank that is usually at the station will be moved to Oasis. The City Council recommends using the bus stop on Passeig Vilafranca as the nearest stop for Renfe users.

Regarding train mobility, Renfe is offering an additional 38 special trains to respond to the high number of travellers visiting the town, specifically 13 trains at night and early morning from Saturday to Sunday, 12 trains from Sunday to Monday and 13 more from Tuesday to Wednesday of Carnival. It has also created an emergency plan in case of any incident with the trains. In this case, 12 buses would be enabled to cover the Sitges-Barcelona route between one and six in the morning.

Local Plan for the Prevention of Addictive Behaviours

Sitges City Council will activate the Local Plan for the Prevention of Addictive Behaviours with different actions to promote responsible consumption and advocate for healthy fun. The Plan proposes a comprehensive program to prevent the consumption of substances such as alcohol, tobacco or drugs. In this sense, one of the actions carried out is the distribution of water with the images of the campaign among the members of the floats in the streets, to promote responsible and healthy consumption.

Carnival free from sexism and LGBTIphobia

Carnival 2025 aims to be a festival free of sexism and LGBTIQIphobia. For this reason, the City Council is once again incorporating Punt Lila (‘Pink Point’), an information and awareness-raising space aimed at the entire population, and providing support, advice and accompaniment to anyone who suffers or witnesses sexist or LGBTIQI aggression during the festivities.

During the marches, there will be a tent located in Plaça Eduard Maristany (station square) from 7pm to 5am and two people will roam the area of ​​Carrer Primer de Maig and Passeig de la Ribera in the middle of the night (from 11pm to 2am approximately). There will also be a Punt Segur, a space separate from the location of the tent, to accompany any person who needs a quiet space to explain their experience, notify their contacts or relax. A person from Punt Lila will accompany them until they feel better or will accompany them and refer them to other assistance services. The aim of this space is to offer privacy and the possibility that the person who has been attacked will not be observed by others.

The Mayor, Aurora Carbonell, wanted to highlight that “this year, for the first time, we will put signs on the routes so that people can identify where the Punt Lila is and also where the Camí Segur are, which are paths with better lighting and more crowded areas.”

The Pink Point is one of the actions that emerged from the Protocol of Action against sexual violence in leisure spaces and parties, which frames actions and resources against sexism and LGBTIphobia.

Locations and opening hours of Punt Lila (Pink Point)

Saturday, March 1 (Fardo Saturday)

FIXED TENT

From 5 to 11 p.m. – Dance Zone (in front of the Passeig swings)

ROAMING PINK POINT

From 10pm to 4am – Paseig de la Ribera and Primer de Maig

Sunday March 2 (Rua de la Disbauxa)

FIXED TENT

From 7pm to 5am – Plaça Eduard Maristany (station square)

ROAMING PINK POINT

From 10pm to 4am – Paseig de la Ribera and Primer de Maig

Tuesday March 4 (Rua de l’Extermini)

FIXED TENT

From 7pm to 5am – Plaça Eduard Maristany (station square)

ROAMING PINK POINT

From 11pm to 2am – Paseig de la Ribera and Primer de Maig