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CicloBCN21 to turn bicycles into the city’s star attraction from 5 to 10 October 2021

06/10/2020 - 11:55 h

The Auditori AXA will be playing host to the event, with exhibition spaces, meetings among professionals, technical visits and activities for reclaiming the central role of bicycles and reaffirming the commitment of institutions and city residents. Launched by the European Cyclist Federation, the EuroVelo, is the main forum on cyclotourism on a European and world scale, and Barcelona's designation was communicated today at its general assembly. CicloBCN21 represents the pooled efforts of the Catalan government, Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), FEM BICI and ConBici, and enjoys support from volunteers and cyclist associations from around the region.

CicloBCN21 is a new international bicycle-themed event coming to town from 5 to 10 October 2021.

Adopting the slogan Pedalem ciutats i territori [We’re pedal-pushing cities and regions], CicloBCN21 will include three congresses on bicycles: the 2021 EuroVelo and Cyclotourism Congress, the 17th Iberian “Bicycles and cities” Congress and the 7th International Bicycle Congress.

The three activities will include exhibition spaces, meetings between professionals, technical visits and activities in public spaces, with the aim of reclaiming the central role of bicycles and reaffirming the commitment of the city’s institutions and residents to promote their use.

This series of congresses and activities taking place in the framework of CicloBCN21 came about thanks to joint work from the Catalan government, Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), FEM BICI and ConBici, and to support from volunteers and cyclist associations from around the region.

Given their global scale and capacity for transforming cities and regions, bicycles are making a decisive contribution towards meeting the current and future challenges facing us as a society, challenges that are found in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2030.

2021 EuroVelo and Cyclotourism

The EuroVelo and Cyclotourism Conference is the main forum on cyclotourism in Europe, which the European Cyclist Federation is promoting.

It’s a biennial event that has been organised since 2012 to promote cyclotourism in Europe and the deployment of the EuroVelo network, a collection of fifteen transnational cyclotourist routes that cross Europe from one end to the other.

Its 2020 or fifth edition was postponed for a year as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, and Barcelona’s designation was made public today at the EuroVelo General Assembly held by the European Cyclist Federation (ECF). The Catalan government and the ECF are also organising an online day event today that analyses adaptations in various regions in the context of COVID-19 and the importance of specialisation in the cyclotourism sector. 

The conference will be bringing Barcelona tourist operators, transport companies, universities, tourist bodies, public authorities and bicycle users, among other things.

Basel, Vienna, Nantes and Limbourg are the European cities that have played host to the event, which is held for sharing knowledge and highlighting good practices in the cyclotourism environment.

The Conference represents a great opportunity for promoting cyclotourism in the Mediterranean basin, and for extending and consolidating the EuroVelo 8 route, between Cadiz and Cyprus, which runs through Catalonia and which the Catalan government is promoting from Jonquera to Ulldecona.

Promoting bicycles as a safe tourist, leisure and sports feature represents a great opportunity for Catalonia to have a say in a more sustainable tourism, which meets the strategic goals of product de-seasonalisation, de-concentration and diversification and wealth generation. It has a high growth potential in our region, where conditions are ideal for cyclotourism.

7th Catalonia International Bicycle Congress

The International Bicycle Congress is the main forum in Catalonia presenting new relationships with the work of bicycles and exchanges of experiences between public authorities, professionals in the sector, associations and users.

The 2025 Catalan Bicycle Strategy will be playing a role at this edition, as a document recently approved by the Catalan government proposing several initiatives for promoting the use of bicycles as an active and sustainable means of transport, both in daily mobility and in the fields of leisure, sport and tourism.

A strategy that aims to get all the other Catalan authorities and organisations relating to the bicycle sector to come on board.

 17th Iberian “Bicycles and Cities” Congress.

The Iberian “Bicycles and Cities” Congress is a joint initiative from the Coordinadora en Defensa de la Bici (ConBici) and the Portuguese Federation of Cyclotourism and Bicycle Users (FPCUB) which is aimed at presenting the most important new developments and experiences relating to bicycles in Spain and Portugal.

This is a congress organised by cyclist associations, with social initiatives linked to the world of bicycles playing a special role.

Further information: CicloBCN2021 website.