Rosalía’s big day in Seville dawned with rain and strong gusts of wind up to 25 kilometers per hour, which forced extreme precautions with the setup of the infrastructure for the second of the events around the world premiere of the Netflix series Berlin and the Lady of the Ermine, which on Friday rolled out the red carpet in the city center. The security around the Guadalquivir River, especially on the San Telmo bridge — very close to where the stage is located — on Betis street and next to the Torre del Oro, has suffered the consequences of the bad weather, with falls and difficulties completing the installation of awnings on the roofs. That entire perimeter has been surrounded by tall metal fences with black mesh to obstruct the view of those without tickets to attend. In the bridge area, beacons have also been placed to delimit traffic and prevent pedestrian access in the area closest to the stage.
The security deployment has been noticeable since early Saturday: alongside the private agents hired by the organization, Local Police and Firefighters were stationed nearby to prevent incidents. The weather conditions forced firefighters to intervene around 9:00, refilling the beacons with water after they were knocked over by the wind. According to members of the operation who informed EL PAÍS, during the show the units assigned will increase and a team will even be deployed on the water surface, due to the possibility of accidents caused by the difficult weather conditions, although from 18:00 Aemet forecasts that the gusts will reduce to 15 kilometers per hour and the temperature will be 15 degrees. The intermittent rain during the day has cast doubts on the celebration. However, sources from the organization have rejected a possible suspension, assuring that “everything is still on,” trusting that “it will not rain, although wind is expected.”
The last secret to be revealed is which song Rosalía will perform. It is only known that she will “gift a song to Seville,” as the organization has insisted, reluctant to provide any information about it, not even about the expected number of attendees. Speculation about the song will end at 22:30, the time announced on the official website of La Jarana del Guadalquivir — as Netflix has named the event — as “a great final surprise.” Doors will open from 19:30 to welcome the public, and the pre-show will start at 20:00, giving way to the main show at 21:15.
In other international events, Rosalía has already surprised with very particular versions of Me quedo contigo, at the 2019 Goya Awards ceremony, or Se nos rompió el amor, at the Latin Grammys, both also held in Seville. A nod to the city is expected, as artists like Bruce Springsteen have done, when on his 2009 tour he captivated 30,000 people by starting his concert with the chords of the popular Sevilla tiene un color especial.
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The madness of her fans
This Saturday some fans without tickets still held on to the hope of seeing the Catalan artist up close, waiting at the doors of the emblematic Alfonso XIII hotel, located a short distance from where the show will take place. In the two days she has been in Seville, Rosalía has always been close to her fans and to the workers of the restaurants she has visited — the first day at Bodeguita Antonio Romero in El Arenal and on Friday at Cañabota, with a Michelin star —.
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The eve of the awaited performance left some images of those encounters, such as the one with the Sevillian artist Julia de Gabriel, author of the poster for this year’s 8-M campaign. The singer starred in a funny anecdote, looking for the author of a large-scale portrait of herself that she had seen upon leaving the hotel, who returned it signed to her amid the uncontrollable joy of its creator.
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