Saúl Craviotto delivered the opening speech of the Sant Anastasi main festival from the plenary hall of the Paeria. The Olympic athlete took on the role of speaker in an event marked by the absence of representatives from ERC and Junts per Catalunya, who showed their opposition to the choice of the canoeist for this institutional role.
Lleida's pride weighs more than medals
Craviotto began his speech by acknowledging his direct style before addressing the emotional bond with his hometown. No medal weighs as much as the pride of saying where I am from, stated the athlete during his speech. Despite having lived for more than 25 years outside the capital of Segrià, he defined this land as his starting point and his inevitable return point.
The town crier evoked his first contacts with water in the Segre River, where his father taught him to row. In those waters he understood that moving forward is not always easy, a lesson he transferred to the vital metaphor. His message sought to foster citizen unity in the face of political divisions visible in the stands.
To fill the streets with life.
This phrase summarized his desire for the celebration, highlighting that there is nothing more beautiful than a united city celebrating itself. The speech combined sports experience with local identity, avoiding grand theoretical speeches to speak from the heart, just as he warned at the beginning of his turn to speak.
Drones light up the Seu Vella and change the pubillatge
Mayor Fèlix Larrosa publicly thanked the words of the town crier after the institutional event concluded. Immediately after, the city enjoyed a nighttime spectacle that used aerial technology to enhance the historical heritage. More than 300 drones flew over the Seu Vella digitally reproducing the monumental complex and the figure of Lo Marraco.
The tradition of pubillatge underwent significant changes during the day. The Joves Referents de Lleida 2025 handed over the baton to the new pubilles and the hereu of 2026. The ceremony recovered the traditional designation and replaced the band with the senyera with a burgundy-colored one, thus modifying the symbolic attire of the office.
Xavier Sabaté, Maria Blanch, Xenia Bosch and Ivayla Stoyanova took on the youth representation with a clear message about the involvement of their generation. We give voice to a generation of young people eager to get involved, declared the four successors. They stressed that when youth is supported, Lleida gains future capacity and social participation.
The music closed the cycle of official acts with the performance of the official song of the main festival. The singer Abril Pinyol performed Si marxo és per tornar, a song composed specifically for the occasion by Pep Saula. The melody accompanied the closing of a day that mixed political controversy with identity claims and visual spectacle.