The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illarecovered this Thursday the official greeting to the King Felipe VIleaving behind the stage of several years in which the different separatist presidents avoided complying with the protocol of the House of the King at public events. The socialist leader received the King of Catalonia in Barcelona for the first time since taking office, on the occasion of the monarch’s institutional visit to the renovated Olympic Port of Barcelona, scene of the Sailing America’s Cup.
Less than a month after his inauguration, Illa greeted the king at an official event, a gesture that the last Catalan presidents had avoided, absenting themselves from the monarch’s receptions. The new Catalan president thus regains an image that had not been seen for more than ten years, following the rise of the independence process, and thus normalizes relations with the Royal House.
Besides Illa, the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, the Government Delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto, the Minister of Sports of the Generalitat, Berni Álvarez, also participated in the reception. . the new chief commissioner of the Mossos d’Esquadra, Miquel Esquius.
After the greetings, the delegation visited the renovated port of Barcelona, in the Gregal dock, which hosts the sailing competition, a sport of which the monarch is a fan, during a visit that lasted half an hour.
Afterwards, they went to the Drassanes in Barcelona, to the Maritime Museum, to participate in the institutional event welcoming the 37th America’s Cup by Louis Vuitton.
“A triumph for Barcelona”
During the event, King Felipe VI assured that hosting the 37th Copa América was “a triumph for Barcelona, for Catalonia and for the whole country”, and said that it was the result of a joint effort and an example of public-private collaboration. During his speech, which he delivered in English, Spanish and Catalan, he mentioned that it was the first time he had met Illa since his appointment as president of the Generalitat and congratulated him on this position.
“This historic and inspiring event has become a global phenomenon, which Spain has the honour of hosting for the third time,” he stressed, noting that it is the most important sporting event that Barcelona has hosted since the 1992 Olympic Games.
In this sense, he recalled his participation with the sailing team in the Olympic Games in Barcelona, and said that now “the city is once again imbued with the values and sporting spirit that have travelled around the world.”
According to him, Barcelona has a unique setting that will be “the center of attention for millions of spectators and hundreds of thousands of visitors, who will be able to follow the biggest nautical competition on the planet.”
“Institutional Union”
For his part, the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, highlighted the “institutional union” and the public-private alliance in the organization of the 37th Copa América, during the institutional welcoming ceremony of this competition, which took place this Thursday at the Maritime Museum. Illa assured that the institutions have “the duty to join forces for the good of the country” in this new period that, according to him, is beginning in Catalonia, with his arrival in the Government.
“Catalonia must once again lead Spain and Europe economically, socially, culturally and sportingly,” stressed the president of the Generalitat, who added that the best example of this was the Copa América.
He also valued public-private collaboration, through which “Catalonia shows all its potential” and shows its best version, according to him.
