Barcelona's New, Super-Tolerant Live Music Policy

On a continent where cities are increasingly cracking down on nightlife, Barcelona has seemingly taken a turn in the other direction. According to a City Hall decision this week, Barcelona’s bars and restaurants will no longer need a license to host live music. From now on, both acoustic and amplified shows can run without any special permission, and in less residential areas there will be no specific curfew on how long they can continue into the night.

The new policy is a godsend to many of the city’s bars and small venues, whose live music offerings have been in retreat for some years, thanks substantially to hostility from City Hall. What makes the city’s change of direction more striking is that, at the same time, it is also fighting a battle against the noise and nuisance created by a saturation of tourists. So how will Barcelona square the two battles?