Palau Sant Jordi (Cultural Site)

            Personally, one my favorite cultural places in Barcelona is Palau Sant Jordi.  Palau Sant Jordi is a multi-purpose indoor sports arena.  It was built in 1990 in preparation for the 1992 Olympics.  Located on Montjuic, Palau Sant Jordi can hold 17,000 people for sporting events and 24,000 for musical events.  At the 1992 Olympic games, the arena hosted the gymnastic, handball and volleyball.1  To be honest, the arena would be cooler in my opinion if it had hosted the basketball games, due to the USA Dream Team’s domination.  Nonetheless, it is a good venue to see a concert at.  The first time I went to Palau Sant Jordi, my brother was in town from New York.  We went with the rest of my friends and the majority of CEA students to Sensation White, a house music conert.

            In the past, Palau Sant Jordi has hosted way better musical talents than some semi-popular DJs.  I looked up who has played there in the past – here are a few names I really like: Frank Sinatra, U2, Metallica, Elton John, Paul McCartney, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Queen and KISS.[1]  Four of those bands, I have seen at different venues in New York.  And now, it is time to add another EPIC show to my history: the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.  They have played at Palau Sant Jordi before in 2006, but this is my first time seeing them live.  Arguably my favorite rock band of all time, I bought my ticket when they went on sale in July.  My three other roommates, who are some of my best mates from home, also have tickets.  We have been looking forward to this day for about five month, and it is finally here.  Thursday night will be bittersweet because I will finally see one my favorite bands, but it will also be my last night in Barcelona.  I am stoked they are playing at Palau Sant Jordi so my last night in Barcelona will be spent at a cool venue with a lot of Catalonian culture.

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[1] Palau Sant Jordi. Wikipedia, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Sant_Jordi