Barcelona: potential problems in September/October?

Hi, Bill:
I've always thought of myself as a pretty calm person...but thanks for your comments, putting things into perspective.

"... partisan tensions may be running pretty darned high. ... have the Rick Steves folks taken any position on whether this tour may be delayed or canceled, given the potential for trouble?"

I am not sure where your alarmist position is coming from, because that article doesn't allude to any likliehood of violence or widespread disruption. Catalans are sophisticated creatures, and have been there before without incident. Passion runs high, but tempers do not.

Hi, djp_syd:
Thanks for your comments. As for my "alarmist" comments, I'd merely refer you to the headline in the linked article:
"Tensions grow in Spain as Catalonia independence referendum confirmed"

Now, maybe "tensions grow" have a different meaning in Sydney than they do here in the States or the UK, so I may be completely wrong. In either case, I'm glad to know that things in Barcelona are calm. I'm looking forward to the trip.

You have the benefit of being on a tour. Trust me, your tour guide will NOT want you involved in anything and they are bound to have phone contact to learn where to avoid on any of these days. I toured Egypt shortly after the Arab Spring and other than changing up when we visited the Mosque and the Cairo Museum (right next to Tahrir Square), we still stayed at the Hilton which was a block from the Square, watched the weekly Friday afternoon protests from the 27th floor balcony, and were told to not walk to the area.
You may choose to avoid large crowds including any saint's day celebrations that may or may not be happening those days, but that would be your choice. Sadly, whether tourist attractions or sports events, large crowds can get out of hand.
At other times and places, you may be 2 blocks from protests and never know they were happening and be 'as safe as houses' as the saying goes.
I realize my reply is not Barcelona specific, but I hope I can add some reassurances that in general, one can tour around these events and not be impacted....unless Barcelona has the same liquor rules as in Equador. No liquor can be sold (restaurants or grocery stores) for 36 hours before polling starts. Then you need to shop early and stock up.

Maria, DJP and Bill...
Many thanks for your responses. Bill, I've visited your website (billsinclair.es), and learned an incredible amount about Barcelona. My wife and I are definitely looking forward to our trip.

The dictionary has "tensions" defined as, "a strained political or social state or relationship". It doesn't imply impending violence, well not here anyhow. After all tensions run high quite often in the course of normal politics, as they can do in families, marriages, sporting teams, neighbourhoods, workplaces, etc. That same (conservative) newspaper may also carry a headline, "Tensions grow in Tory cabinet room after Theresa May's disastrous election".

Hi Bill, I beg to differ... in this instance is a referendum not a consulta as the results are pledged to have legal consequences: if YES wins, the Parliament will declare independence. That's what, at least in Catalan, makes these two terms different.

I appreciate reading this discussion. As it happens, we will be in Barcelona (1st visit to Spain, pre-cruise) October 6-9. This will give me some more to read about, before I go, to learn a little about the local politics. Interesting!

I'm happy to read above, though, that the vote is set for Oct 1st,-- which is before I arrive. I'm not worried about "unrest", etc, but I'm not sure if a "voting day" might affect the regular, Sunday, hours of operation at the sites I'd like to visit.

Cheers,
Vivian

It shouldn't Vivian.

It won't happen anything relevant. There might be people voting or not, it just depends of our politicians. Anyway, this is a political problem, so many of us have left our politicians to do threats between them because we're fed up with all those 5 years of "now is the moment to do (put whatever you want here)". So, let's leave politicians do their discussions and enjoy Barcelona, all the year this city is glourious!

Steve, it seems that a small group has decided to take out their frustrations on the tourists. Angry business leaders slam Barcelona for slow response to attack on tourist bus

I believe the damage was to a tourist bus rather than to tourists themselves. I saw similar anti-tourism messages painted on a couple of walls when I visited Barcelona last year. I assume economics is behind this.

Hi Steve, I also posted about the Oct 1 vote as we are going to Barcelona on Sept 27 - 30, leaving for other areas the day before the vote, because of that. We also hear about "tanks" "revolution" and possible opportunistic violence with extremely large crowds. I have been alarmed by the news and reporting of the lead up tension. We will stay informed and wait to see how things go before leaving. I am reassured by the fact that the RS tours (many in Barcelona at the time) are taking place. As a Canadian in Vancouver it is hard to get an accurate reading but glad to see I am not the only one asking the question!! I trust we will both enjoy our trip!

Susanne