The Consell de Ciutat (City Assembly), Barcelona’s most important advisory and participatory body, has just turned twenty. During this time the assembly has contributed to the evolution of city governance and become a space which represents society, today’s heir of the Consell de Cent, which lasted five centuries.
The assembly has space for trade unions, business associations, community organisations, institutions representing the city and individual citizens, over a hundred members with the capacity to draft rulings and recommendations for improving municipal policies.
The assembly has three organisational levels: the Plenary, which initially proposes topics, the Permanent Commission, and working groups devoted to listening and consulting experts.
Access to housing is one of the main challenges for the city in the coming years. Barcelona has launched a new strategy to respond to the issue during this term of office, thePla Viure.
The plan, which users can follow on the website habitatge.barcelona, not only defines the goals but also the actions and services in this area for the period 2025-2032, notable aspects being:
Making the right to housing universal: enlarging the stock of affordable social housing.
Renovating and improving housing: with sustainability, accessibility and comfort.
Addressing vulnerability: the demographic challenge and life stages.
The future Barcelona Housing Plan 2025-2032 is now under way with aparticipatory process open to everybody. In this first stage, an assessment will be made of the measures implemented in recent years in the city, with discussions on new proposals for the next eight years. The participatory sessions will run until the summer of 2025.If you want to stay up to date, don’t forget to check the website habitatge.barcelona.
The team from .barcelona organised an information session on 19 November aimed at educators, consultants and professionals from the technical team at Barcelona Activa, introducing all the advantages of registering a .barcelona domain and providing them with the tools to act as prescribers for companies and advisory entrepreneurs from Barcelona Activa’s various programmes.
What is a .barcelona domain?
A .barcelona domain is much more than just a website address. It is a seal of identity which links your project with the city. It is a way of showing the world you are part of the Barcelona community and that you share the values of innovation, creativity and international openness that characterise the city.
Why choose .barcelona?
· Visibility: a .barcelona domain allows you to stand out in searches linked with Barcelona.
· Identity: it transmits a strong connection with the city and its inhabitants.
· Credibility: it gives a professional and distinctive touch to your online presence.
· Opportunities: it opens up possibilities of new collaboration and projects within the Barcelona ecosystem.
Who is the .barcelona domain aimed at?
The .barcelona domain is open to anybody wishing to link their project with the city: companies, organisations, the self-employed, non-profit entities, events, citizen initiatives and more. Whether you have a local business or want to break into a market in Barcelona, the .barcelona domain is an excellent option.
Unique opportunity for entrepreneurs
As part of its support plan for entrepreneurs, Barcelona Activa is offering free .barcelona domains during the first year of all projects establishing a link with the city. This way, entrepreneurs can launch their businesses with their own professional domain from the first moment.
How to register a .barcelona domain?
1. Visit domini.barcelona: go to the website and check the availability of the domain you would like.
2. Choose a registration company: select the registration company that suits your needs best.
3. Complete the register: fill in the form with your details and complete the purchase.
With this training, Barcelona Activa gives entrepreneurs the tools they need to build a solid digital identity in the city with a .barcelona domain, which backs their work and visibility.
The 81st annual ICANN meeting was held in Istanbul from 9 to 14 November. ICANN is the organisation responsible at an international level for coordinating various technical aspects of the internet, to guarantee that it works in a safe, stable and accessible way for everybody. The team from .barcelona took part in the meeting and came back to the city with a wealth of new information and knowledge.
The future of the internet, increasingly diverse and inclusive
One of the star topics at the meeting was the importance of international domain names (IDN). This means that we will increasingly see domains with characters from other alphabets, such as the Cyrillic or Arabic alphabets, plus domains that contain characters unique to the Catalan language, such as those using .barcelona, favouring the use of our language. This is great news for cultural and linguistic diversity on the internet!
The ICANN highlighted the importance of promoting universal acceptance, where all of us as users get accustomed to using these domains in our daily life. This will make the internet even more open and accessible for everybody.
New opportunities and challenges for .barcelona
The draft for the ICANN strategic plan for 2030, to be presented in 2026, was another topic at the meeting. There was also extensive discussion about the new round of geographical Top-Level Domains (gTLD) being opened up in 2026. This new stage represents a great opportunity for new stakeholders, at the same time posing challenges in terms of management and competitiveness for new domains and existing domains alike.
As a member of the GeoTLD group, the .barcelona team are closely involved with the implementation of the directive on the resilience of essential entities (NIS2). This European directive establishes new cybersecurity requisites for essential services, such as domain registers. Our team has already started working to adapt to the new regulation and ensure that .barcelona is a domain offering maximum security and reliability for all our users.
Strengthening ties with the .barcelona community
During the annual meeting, we took the opportunity to meet with main registration companies for the domain and to strengthen our collaboration. These meetings are fundamental for ensuring the domain works well and offering a quality service to users.
What does all this mean?
These new developments allow us to look to the future with optimism. The .barcelona domain is growing and constantly evolving to adapt to the new trends of the internet. We want .barcelona to be your trusted domain, a space where you can express your digital identity and connect with the city’s community.
ICANN81 was a unique opportunity for the .barcelona domain to be at the forefront of debate on the future of the internet and be involved in defining the regulations that govern it. The meeting helped us collaborate with other stakeholders in the sector and put .barcelona on the map as a leader in managing geographical city domains.
Held on 26 September, the European Day of Languages is a special occasion highlighting the continent’s linguistic wealth and the great cultural heritage it represents in Europe.
To mark the occasion, the .barcelona domain is joining the .cat and .gal domains for a campaign to nurture and promote geographical and cultural domains.
Your .barcelona domain for just 5 euros
You only have until 13 October to purchase your .barcelona domain for just 5 euros plus VAT.
Why choose a .barcelona domain?
· Identity: A .barcelona domain reflects your link with the city.
· Visibility: It increases your visibility in search engines and attracts a local and international audience with an interest in Barcelona.
· Professionalism: A personalised domain conveys seriousness and professionalism.
· Community: You will form part of a community of .barcelona domains and be able to proudly show that your project is different, modern, cosmopolitan and entrepreneurial.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity!Go to https://www.domini.barcelona/registra/ and register your .barcelona domain. It’s the moment to show the pride you take in the city of Barcelona.
The team from the .barcelona domain attended the annual meeting by the GeoTLD Group, held in London on 5 and 6 September and bringing together geographical domains (GeoTLD) and city domains to share the challenges and opportunities for our sector, the evolution of the market and new trends and challenges.
City domains attending this year’s meeting included .paris, .berlin, .amsterdam, .wien and .cologne.
The meeting puts Barcelona’s digital future and the new European regulations in the spotlight
The meeting provided a good chance to analyse the future perspectives of domains and explore new opportunities for collaboration. In this context, .barcelona highlighted how it is a domain which is open to citizens and committed to the promotion of Barcelona in the digital sphere and its contribution towards a more open and diverse internet.
The European security regulations (NIS2), which come into force in the next few months, provided another of the main topics for the meeting. The regulations are aimed at ensuring a more secure European digital environment, with more guarantees, regulations and certifications, meaning challenges in management and new dynamics in operating domains.
Towards a new round of domains
The meeting also offered a unique opportunity for us to get together again with those in charge of the ICANN, who were able to share the new round of domains due to be launched in 2026. Developed over the last ten years by the ICANN, the new round of domains will offer a great opportunity to request new domain extensions representing communities, other cities, brands and general names.
.london and .barcelona share experiences and learning
Another key moment was the bilateral meeting we held with London & Partners, the City of London agency tasked with managing the .london domain, the host for this year’s meeting. The session gave us an insight into the experiences the .london domain has had to go through since it was created, and to share initiatives in the field of marketing and promotion for both domains.
Working together for a more secure digital future
The presence of the .barcelona domain at the annual GeoTLDmeeting reaffirms our commitment to keep working with other geoTLDs to build a more secure and prosperous digital future, and at the same time to allow the .barcelona domain to keep abreast of the latest trends in the sector, establish contacts with other similar organisations and work together.
Our main festival takes place this year from the 20th to 24th September. Five days to enjoy music, gastronomy, culture, open days and street art. Here are six glimpses of everything it has to offer, and you can look this all up on the merce.barcelona website.
There can be no mercé without the pregón, and the honour this year of starting the festivities falls to the artist Carme Solé. Casablanca will be the guest city, and will share its vibrant sounds, dances and visual arts with us.
The 2024 Piromusical will definitely be remembered as one with a strong auteur style. Rosalía will be choosing the songs that will be played on 24th September at 10:00 p.m. The Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina will be full once again with spectators who’ll be able to witness a breathtaking spectacle of bursts, light and colour, all perfectly in sync with music picked by one of the greatest artists in the world today.
Music is one of the main elements of the Barcelona Festival. Live performances by 140 artists and musical groups will take place on fourteen stages across the city, at Música Mercè, the BAM, as well as the concerts organised by radio stations.
And when it comes to popular culture, the 200th birthday of Josep Anselm Clavé will be commemorated this year, a musician whose L’aplec del Remei zarzuela will be performed on the 23rd. The city’s Aligá, which is even older, celebrates its 650th anniversary in the Plaça de Sant Jaume, on Sunday, 22nd September.
Elsewhere, the Ciutadella park will be the scene of the fourth edition of Terra i Gust, the sustainable food festival. Tastings, showcookings and workshops regarding food and drink will once again be on offer, and reflections will be made on food waste, sustainable fishing and water.
To cap it all off, the traditional La Mercè-Bimbo Global Race will take place on 29th September. The family race is added to the traditional routes this year, a fun and non-competitive activity set up to run a short and central route.Don’t forget that you can find all the information at merce.barcelona. Long live La Mercé and long live Barcelona!
This autumn, from 8 to 13 October, a new edition of the Biennial of Thought will bring debate and reflection back to the city’s streets and squares. The event will feature more than 100 experts on topics including democracy, memory, postcolonialism, feminism, technology and climate change and cultural debates.
Under the theme ‘The Day After It All’, the fourth edition of the biennaldepensament.barcelonawill focus on deconstructing the defining principles and dynamics of the past two centuries, which are now at odds with a future where sustainability, social justice and the fight against inequalities are paramount.
To reflect upon these major philosophical debates and the global transformations happening all around us, the Biennial will feature 120 participants and 65 free activities, with no prior registration necessary. The list of notable guests includes Herta Müller, Perejaume, Wajdi Mouawad, Jacques Rancière, Jason Hickel, Zadie Smith, Elena Martín, Donatella della Porta, Javier Pérez Royo, Eliane Brum, Oyèrónké Oyèwùmi, Begoña Román, Las Hijas De Felipe, Maria Rovira (Oye Sherman) and Ana Polo, Rocío Quillahuaman and Jean-Rémi Carbonneau.
The debates will take place in the CCCB, Can Felipa, Canòdrom, La Model, Plaça de Masadas, Plaça de la Virreina and the gardens of Pla i Armengol, among other venues. This edition of the Biennial coincides with Barcelona’s year as the European Capital of Democracy, which aims to strengthen the connection between participation and citizenship.Visit biennaldelpensament.barcelona for all the information.
The quintessential holiday month is here, and this year sees the sun and the hot weather sharing the limelight with the America’s Cup, the most important sailing competition of all. The event starts with the preliminary regatta on 22 August 202, followed by the first round.
The Port Olímpic will be gearing up for the occasion once its transformation into a people-centred space is complete. The revamped port will be a place where the blue economy, nautical sports, cuisine and the sea are at the heart of its economic and social activity. You’ll find full details at portolimpic.barcelona.
An event of this type brings a large volume of visitors with it. The website mobilitat.barcelona will be offering detailed information on mobility disruptions and alternatives, with the municipal journey planner “Getting there” providing travel recommendations while the competition is on.
Cultura.barcelona
In parallel to the sports competition, the Cultural Regatta offers a programme of activities based around culture, art, sports, cuisine, science and leisure, helping people to engage further with the world of sailing.
Various exhibitions will be offering complex visions of the link between human beings and the sea; addressing the theme through photography, archaeology and immersive experiences at different city museums, which can be found here. For its part, the Lletra Petita lecture cycle sees the city’s libraries join in with talks on books linked to the sea.
Once the Grec is over, the performing arts continue to fill Barcelona’s theatres with life, and the main site for checking what’s on is teatre.barcelona. Music will also be filling Montjuïc Castle during the evenings in August, with the Sala BCN festival. If you still want more, remember you can find all the cultural activity in the city at cultura.barcelona
Good food
The high temperatures and humidity mean we’re more careful with how and what we eat. One healthy option is to do our shopping at Barcelona’s markets, which sell fresh local produce and are as close as this link: mercats.barcelona.
If you’re not in the mood for cooking, you can take advantage of the full range of eating options in the city, a global role model for gastronomy, known the world over.
SEO optimisation for mobile devices is essential if we consider that smartphones are a vital means of internet access for many users. Search engines such as Google prioritise websites that offer a good mobile experience. Here are a series of tips to help you optimise your website SEO for mobiles:
1. Responsive design
A responsive design automatically adapts to different screen sizes. This means your website can be viewed well on computers and mobiles alike, enhancing user experience. Google recommends a responsive design as it helps to index content and avoids duplicated content.
2. Good loading speed
Loading speed is crucial for mobile SEO. Mobile users tend to abandon a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. Improving the loading speed can reduce this and increase the time users stay on your site. You can use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights to identify any issues with speed.
3. Content optimisation
Content must be easy to read on small screens. Use short paragraphs, lists with bullet points and clear headings. Well-structured content facilitates the reading experience for users. Adapt content for mobile devices with simple and direct language, and make sure that calls to action (CTA) are accessible.
4. Avoid Flash and intrusive pop-ups
Flash is not compatible with many mobile phones and pop-ups can be very annoying to users. Steering clear of these improves user experience and avoids penalisations from Google. Use tech such as HTML5 instead of Flash and configure pop-ups to be less intrusive, or get rid of them altogether.
5. Local search optimisation
Many mobile searches are local in nature. Optimise your site for local searches adding relevant information such as addresses, phone numbers and opening times. Local searches can bring highly interested traffic to your services and products. Register your business on Google My Business and make sure your local information is accessible across your whole site.
6. Implementaton of structured data
Structured data are fragments of code that help search engines such as Google to understand website content better. You can use Schema.org to mark elements such as products, reviews and events.
Structured data can improve the visibility of your website in search results with rich snippets. With the help of an expert in programming, add structured data tagging to HTML code on the site following the Schema.org directives.
7. Use of Accelerated Mobile Pages
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are a Google initiativeto accelerate page loading on mobile devices. It’s a good idea to implement the AMP version of website pages as they load almost instantly, improving user experience.
8. Monitoring and analysis
Finally, it’s crucial to monitor the performance of your website and make constant adjustments. Regular monitoring enables you to identify problems quickly and adapt to new SEO trends. Use tools such as Google Analytics, Search Console and other SEO tools to monitor the performance of your site and get valuable information.
We hope this article helps you understand the importance of taking SEO for mobiles into account, and helps you optimise your website’s position and the experience of users who access it via mobile.
