More than a 1,000 personnel from the Local Police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Medical Emergency Service, the Red Cross, the Fire Brigade, the Volunteer Fire Brigade and Civil Protection will be part of the security and emergency services for the Sitges Carnival 2023, and who will be in operation between Maundy Thursday and Ash Wednesday.
The figure is similar to previous years, and which will be complemented with an additional private surveillance service of more than 100 staff, in charge of regulating the access points to the streets. Along the route there will be 20 double security gates to enable the mobility of pedestrians.
The preventive measures, however, will go beyond the vicinity of the route where the floats will parade. There will also be alcohol and weapons checks at the main entrances to the town and specific police patrols against drug use, unauthorised bars and street vendors. In terms of healthcare, a ‘field hospital’ will once again be set up at the Primary Care Centre (CAP) and there will be medical equipment and ambulances at various points along the route.
Police patrols will also be set up around the Melià Hotel, where this year the party after the ‘Rua de la Disbauxa’ will be held, due to the refurbishment work being carried out at the Retiro. Local Police and Mossos d’Esquadra will enable a ‘safe route’ between the town centre and the hotel facilities and will also fly drones over the entire area and maintain surveillance around the train station to prevent the arrival of passengers with drugs or weapons.
There will also be various ‘purple points’, where the Carnival participants and the public can report any type of sexual assault or harassment. The staff at these stands will also receive special training to be able to respond more effectively and quickly to possible homophobic attacks, such as the one produced in the Carrer de Joan Tarrida on New Year’s Eve.
The Sitges Town Council is also adding extra lighting in some streets, and estimates that the Carnival week will see approximately 300,000 visitors.
Click here to follow Sitges in English on Facebook, as well as Twitter and Instagram.
Click here to return to Sitges in English home page. Click here for our full archive of Sitges News reports.
Click here to get your business or services listed on our DIRECTORY.
Don’t miss out on the English section in the weekly L’Eco de Sitges (and Ribes edition). Click here to subscribe and have it delivered to your home each week.
