About to turn one hundred years old, the Parque Grande José Antonio Labordeta in Zaragoza is no longer open to the public. The city’s main green space will require a ticket since, from this Friday until January 7, a Christmas sound and light show, called Luzir, has been installed. It is opposed by environmental associations and municipal opposition parties, who accuse the mayor, Natalia Chueca (PP), of having allocated private management “by hand”. The proposal aims to charge adults 15 euros – 9.5 euros for children – to visit the premises for three quarters of an hour watching the performance of different classic stories.
Over more than 600 meters, the reconstruction of the floors occupies more than 20,000 square meters – two hectares -, where more than 400,000 LEDs, 600 lighting fixtures, 4 projectors, 18 km of cable, 11 porticos, 10 main sculptures will be installed. 135 digits. The organizations Friends of the Earth Aragón, ANSAR and Ecologistas en Acción Zaragoza question this light show due to the environmental impact of the night lighting of various spaces in the park and the human presence.
According to the associations, the event goes against the urban renaturation criteria desired by the Town Hall. To avoid this, they have collected, for the moment, 2,075 signatures against this installation of the Zusup company, which is also in charge of managing Zity Space. However, as El Periódico de Aragón reports, this time the contract for the management of the facilities of Parque Grande, which is a public space, was not put out to tender.
Opposition parties have criticized this installation, questioning the management and impact of this spectacle. PSOE councilor Eva Cerdán said that this show “is inaccessible to many families due to its high prices. And a family with two children will pay 50 euros, what popular prices, yes sir. Vox’s Julio Calvo said “this is a clear example of favoritism toward a private company, while other neighborhoods, like Valdefierro, have been denied similar events for unclear reasons.”
From Zaragoza en Común (ZeC), Elena Tomás expressed her concern, like environmental associations, about the environmental impact of Luzir: “The park is a vital ecosystem for the city”. He said that they did not have access to the technical reports of this installation and accused the City Hall of granting this space for a private event “without a call for tenders and by hand: “Do not continue to do these politicians, look for another place to host your hitchhiking shows, but it’s not the city’s Parque Grande. They just have to turn it into Mr. Forcen’s amusement park to sell their pasta dishes there,” Tomás said, referring to the new kiosks.
Sara Fernández, the municipal Minister of Culture, assured that “all the necessary technical reports have been carried out and confirm the viability of Luzir in the park” and called on critical voices to go to court.
Impact on birds
The associations are assessing the impact on birds, trees and BIC (Property of Cultural Interest) elements of the park and have asked the Town Hall for reports on the specific measures taken to avoid the impact on birds of lights, sounds. and noises derived from spectacle and human presence, with explicit reference to scientific and technical reports guaranteeing that there will be no negative impact. They remember that a similar Christmas show called Natura Encesa in the Torre Girona gardens in Barcelona was suspended due to the light and acoustic impact.
Luzir’s intervention “will modify the natural dynamics of the park both due to the lighting and the presence of people at night. Various wild species, notably birds, will see their usual environment significantly altered at night both by lighting and by human presence with voices and cries as well as noises derived from the show,” specify the three associations in a press release.
They also explain that the winter period is “critical” for birds due to the reduction in daylight hours, which reduces the foraging period that allows them to generate the energy necessary to overcome the long hours without light and low temperatures. . They explain that “the discomfort of these animals forces them to consume more energy due to the stress caused by nocturnal activities or to move to suboptimal locations with consequent energy expenditure and less security. This has direct consequences on natural winter mortality, which will increase. The Luzir show is not a one-off event but rather the interference will accumulate over several weeks. »
Finally, Asians also criticize the “commodification” of a natural and public space: “This is not the first time that a public space has been ceded. Let us remember the restaurants that have opened in the park and which, in the case of the Luzir event, will be paid for by the participants.”
