Festival tourism fills Bilbao
The thousands of people who visited the Biscayan capital these days, attracted by BBK Live, filled apartments, hotels, campsites and even student residences
«Bilbao turns to the festival. In Madrid, Mad Cool will be fine musically or not, but the way BBK Live is lived here is much more complete. It lives everywhere. So much”. The praise is released by Pablo Manzano, a man from Madrid who has come with Elena Marín, his partner. Both have traveled from Jaén and are staying these days at a friend’s house in Getxo. They are just one example of the many visitors who populate the town these days favored by the Kobetamendi concerts.
In addition to the handy houses of colleagues, the city offers accommodation for all tastes. From the campsite that is located a few meters from the music venue to hotels, student residences and tourist apartments. In Kobetas, a good number of young people sleep –or not–, like Germán Loiti, a 28-year-old from San Sebastian who rested yesterday sitting on a chair at the entrance to his tent. «This is the second time we come and we always do camping. The atmosphere is amazing and we like mud hahahaha.”
Not far away was Laura Ballesteros, a 30-year-old woman from Cáceres who supported hairstyles and tattoos “for 3 euros.” After “sleeping 8 hours”, she had given him time to go down to the city to “see the free concerts”. The Valladolid sisters Marga and Teresa Garrido also walked the streets of the capital. “We always come and this time we go down because they have removed the supermarket that was before in the campsite and of course, you have to buy provisions,” they lamented after assuring that in this edition “there are fewer campers.” “It seems that many people have opted for hotels and apartments because yesterday it was packed with spectators,” they confirmed.
Four years in the same apartment
The option of renting has convinced Ainhoa Hernández and Elena Casado from Vitoria for years. «We have been coming since 2015 but in the last four editions we chose to get an apartment. In fact, we always come to it, which is very central and on top of that they don’t raise the price”, they celebrated by making a stop at Jordi Évole’s concert in El Arenal. Not far from Madrid, Ana Díaz and Daniel Checa recorded that this first visit to Bilbao took place months ago. “On my birthday, which falls on Christmas, she gave me the tickets because I’m a big fan of Placebo, so here we are, delighted.”
The Tenerife residents Alejandro Campal and Miriam Morales took advantage of the morning, surprised by “the high temperature that we did not expect”, to get to know the town. They have opted for another type of comfort, that of a hotel. In his case, the one at the Barceló Nervión, which “for a nice price is great and well connected.” Not far from them, at the Petit Palace Arana, Iñaki Bereziartu and Maialen Aldasoro, from the Gipuzkoan town of Lazkao, are staying until tomorrow.
«We bought the tickets for the 2020 ‘festi’, but you see, the pandemic… This time we wait until April to get accommodation and the truth is that the hotel is great and super central. It is the second time that we have come in this plan, although the other time we were at the Ercilla”, they said before going to meet some friends. Before that, they took the opportunity to calmly visit the city where he studied and “which has changed a lot since the mid-90s, when I met it. It’s pretty.”
Any other accommodation option in Bilbao these days? Well, yes, because in addition to hostels and boarding houses, student residences also open their doors. Antonio Sánchez from Madrid –in San Mamés– and his friends from León, Cristina Díaz and Samuel Baruque –in Pablo Picaso– know this. «They were the cheapest options, they are in a good area and well connected. For sleep and go, they’re great.” That said, for all tastes.