International New Rose Competition

Education and awareness

To mark the rose flowering season, Barcelona City Council is organizing the Barcelona International New Rose Competition, which takes place in the Parc de Cervantes Rose Garden.

The competition is aimed at breeders and growers of new rose species, as well as to the citizens of Barcelona, with a program of activities for all audiences, such as floral art and cuisine demonstrations and concerts.

The Barcelona International New Rose Competition was founded in 2001 to promote the rose garden and raise its public profile, faithful to Barcelona's rose tradition dating back to the early 20th century.

It is a world-renowned competition. The roses presented at it have been created by plant breeders by crossing existing rose species. These varieties have therefore never been marketed or seen before by the public. A reserved area of the Rose Garden is home to each edition’s winning rose.

Edition 2023 webpage

 

2022 edition

The 22nd International Rose Competition will take place on 6 to 8 May in the Parc de Cervantes Rose Garden. The competition is held every year to coincide with the first flowering of the roses, and, in line with the criteria designated by a prestigious international jury, awards prizes to the best new varieties developed by rose breeders from around the world.

This year’s edition marks the return to normality after the preventive health measures. As in previous editions, there will be environmental awareness visits and guided tours, with a limited number of places. Registration is in person, at the Rose Garden itself.

This Barcelona competition is part of an international circuit that awards prizes for the best new rose varieties, and ensures the city’s status as a key point of reference in this sector. This year’s edition will feature 30 rose breeders from 11 countries: Germany, Belgium Denmark, the US, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Poland, who will be presenting a total of 102 new rose varieties.

Check out the article (catalan).

 

Prizes awarded at the Barcelona International New Roses Competition

The Barcelona International New Rose Competition awards prizes in official categories (awarded by the expert jury and a permanent committee), as well as prizes granted by associations and the general public.

Official category: prizes awarded by the expert jury and its permanent committee: 

  • Barcelona prize
  • Prize for the best hybrid tea rose/ grandiflora rose
  • Prize for the best floribunda/ multiflora rose
  • Prize for the best landscape/ shrub rose
  • Prize for the best carpet rose
  • Prize for the best miniature rose
  • Prize for the best climbing rose
  • Prize for the most vigorous variety (Asociación Española de Parques y Jardines Públicos)
  • Prize for the variety with the best flowers (Asociación Española de la Rosa)
  • “Pere Dot” prize for the most original variety (Amics de les Roses de Sant Feliu de Llobregat)
  • Prize for the most fragrant rose (Amics dels Jardins)
  • Prize for the rose with the best fragrance (Mestres Perfumistes)

Citizen and organisation prizes

  • 2022 Rosa Ciutadana prize
  • Senior citizen rose prize
  • Escola Castell de Sant Foix prize
  • Escola Mare de Déu de Montserrat prize

 

The international jury is made up of professionals from the world of gardening and roses, as well as creators from other disciplines, and its individual members vary from year to year.

The permanent committee is made up of 10 local technicians and experts. Between the previous autumn and the month of May, the evolution of the plants sent to them from breeders around the world is officially monitored and assessed. Four detailed assessments are carried out for each variety between May and December during the plant cycle of the year prior to the expert jury’s full assessment. The committee awards points for factors such as vigour, development, foliage, fragrance, resistance to pests, durability, and the degree of novelty and interest in the flower. The second official assessment is made on site by the International Jury during the competition. The jury awards points for the interest the flower generates, novelty, fragrance and beauty.


The Mestres Pefumistes jury is made up of five international specialists, who choose the rose variety with the best perfume, each writing their own description of it.

 

Inauguration of the Catorze Roses Memory Space

As part of the 22nd International Rose Competition, the Les Corts District will be opening the Catorze Roses Memory Space. This space pays tribute to the thirteen young women shot in Madrid at the hands of the Francoist regime in August 1939, and to the women persecuted, repressed, imprisoned and executed during the post-war period, who are represented by a fourteenth anonymous rose.

 

History of the Parc de Cervantes Rose Garden

The Parc de Cervantes Rose Garden is a privileged spot that highlights the botanical, aesthetic and educational values of roses.

It was created in 1965 by the architects Lluís Riudor and Joaquim Maria Casamor, and currently brings together over 2,000 different species and varieties of rose bushes, with a total of more than 10,000 plants over 4 hectares.

In 2011, the Cervantes Rose Garden received the 2009 Award of Garden Excellence given by the World Federation of Rose Societies 'in recognition of its beauty, history and educational value'.

At the Parc de Cervantes Rose Garden, you will find all the representative species from the history of rose bushes as well as modern varieties. There are collections of wild roses, ancient and modern hybrids, and climbing roses. The perfume garden houses a collection of the most perfumed roses as well as an area reserved for the winning roses from previous competitions.

Visit the park through the Spanish Association of Public Parks and Gardens’ virtual platform 'Vivir los Parques':

 

Documentation: