Barcelona opens the Tour de France press centre at Palau Sant Jordi

he opening marks the operational start of a week in which the city will become the world capital of cycling. The Tour will not begin only on the day of the first stage: beforehand there will be accreditations, meetings, logistics, international media and intense activity around Montjuïc and other parts of Barcelona.

The opening event was scheduled for this Wednesday, 1 July, at 14:00 at Palau Sant Jordi, located on Passeig Olímpic. The Tour’s official schedule places the launch of the race headquarters and press centre there, which will operate as a working base for the organisation and accredited media.

The space will be especially important for journalists, photographers and television crews covering the Grand Départ. From there, much of the information, accreditation management and media coordination for one of the most internationally followed sporting events will be centralised.

The day comes just before another key moment: the team presentation, scheduled for Thursday, 2 July, between Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau and the Sagrada Família. That event will bring the cyclists to the city centre and foreshadow the atmosphere of the Tour’s big days.

Saturday, 4 July, will bring the first stage, a team time trial starting and finishing in Barcelona. The route, of around 19.6 kilometres, will turn several streets and avenues into a sporting setting and require mobility to be reorganised in different districts.

On Sunday, 5 July, the second stage will leave Tarragona and finish in Barcelona, with Montjuïc among the most anticipated points. On Monday the 6th, the third stage will set off from Granollers towards Les Angles, already in French territory, bringing the Grand Départ’s passage through Catalonia to a close.

The choice of Palau Sant Jordi is no coincidence. The venue, inaugurated in 1990 and a symbol of Olympic Barcelona, has the capacity and experience to host major sporting, cultural and media operations. On this occasion it will not be the main venue of a competition, but the centre from which much of its machinery will be organised.

For Barcelona, opening the press centre means that the Tour has already entered the city before the stages begin. Over the coming days, hotels, streets, sports venues, press areas and mobility points will feel the weight of an event that attracts teams, fans and media from around the world.

The Grand Départ will be an international showcase, but also a logistical challenge. The city will have to combine the daily lives of residents and businesses with road closures, restrictions, public events and the presence of a large sporting caravan.

With Palau Sant Jordi already activated, the countdown enters its most visible phase. Barcelona will not only receive the Tour: for a few days, it will have to operate at the pace of a race that moves bicycles, cameras, security, the public and an international machine capable of transforming the city long before the first cyclist passes through.