Closing Ceremony of the Centenary

Almost six hundred people gather to pay a final tribute to the Costa Brava as the two-year schedule of celebrations aimed at highlighting the values of the area and the Costa Brava tourism brand comes to an end.

The Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona brought two years of celebrations of the Centenary of the Costa Brava to a close in the Auditorium of the new Casino Costa Brava in Lloret de Mar in the evening of Sunday 12^th September in a festive event designed as a final tribute to the Costa Brava. Almost six hundred people attended the event, including the President of Girona Provincial Council and of the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona, Enric Vilert, the Catalan Minister for Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, Josep Huguet, the Mayor of Lloret de Mar, Xavier Crespo, the mayors of other Costa Brava towns, businesspeople from the tourism sector and representatives of institutions and organisations.

The closing ceremony was split into two separate parts. The first part of the evening was taken up by a gala dinner in which 18 dishes from the Costa Brava Menu were served. The dishes were prepared by fifteen restaurants, including Michelin-starred establishments of the Costa Brava brand, establishments that collaborated in offering the Centenary Menu and establishments representing the cuisine collectives of the Costa Brava that participated in producing the recipe book of Costa Brava dishes, some of which were matched with San Miguel beer. The Empordà Gastronomic School was also involved.

The gastronomic dinner highlighted one of the main attractions of the area and its chefs, who have done so much over the last two years to raise the profile of the destination through a series of promotional initiatives that have been implemented in Catalonia, the rest of Spain and abroad. The Centenary has travelled to Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian, Paris, Toulouse and Lyon, among other places.

Following the dinner, the second part of the closing ceremony began with an audiovisual presentation of the Costa Brava containing retrospective and present-day images of the area and an overview of the actions, initiatives and events carried out by the Patronat de Turisme over the last two years to promote the Centenary. The presentation was followed by speeches by institutional representatives: the Mayor of Lloret de Mar, Xavier Crespo, the President of Girona Provincial Council and of the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona, Enric Vilert, and the Catalan Minister for Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, Josep Huguet. The evening was rounded off with a performance by the Camut Band, a Catalan music and dance company.

The celebration of the Centenary of the Costa Brava 2008-2010 has enabled the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona to roll out a wide-ranging programme of promotional initiatives and actions aimed at showcasing the Costa Brava brand and its attractions in Catalonia, the rest of Spain and abroad. Over the course of two years, the tourism promotion of the Costa Brava has received a major boost, while the tourism brand has become even more firmly established locally, enabling all the towns on the Costa Brava to identify with this internationally renowned tourist destination.