Reus has chosen the wasteland next to Parc de la Festa as the main point to follow the total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026, after the Generalitat de Catalunya included the city among the 20 recommended municipalities for observation in Catalonia.
The city council will concentrate the operation there after ruling out the Tecnoparc in a test carried out at the end of April, despite the fact that the eclipse points to a large turnout and the planned space has capacity for about 6,000 people. The tension of the municipal plan is to organize this assistance at a single point and avoid collapses in the accesses to the city at the end of the phenomenon.
Reus ruled out Tecnoparc and focused observation on Parc de la Festa
The enabled space runs along Riudoms avenue and will be the city's main reference point for following the eclipse. The choice comes after tests carried out by the council at the end of April, when it reviewed the observation conditions and ended up renouncing Tecnoparc.
The open field next to the Parc de la Festa will have capacity for 6,000 people.
The mayor of Reus, Sandra Guaita, framed the event as an occasion to bring science closer to citizens through an unusual phenomenon. Her assessment accompanies a program that the council has distributed among various municipal facilities in the months leading up to the eclipse.
"It is an opportunity to experience the eclipse very closely and even encourage someone to approach science after a phenomenon that is experienced with such intensity" - Sandra Guaita, mayor of Reus
From May and throughout the summer, Reus has prepared conferences, exhibitions, cinema, workshops, and educational activities in collaboration with the Universitat Rovira i Virgili and with experts in space research. The agenda seeks to spread interest in the eclipse before August 12 and not limit it to the observation day.
Programming kicked off at FiraReus Events and will reach the Museu de Reus and the library
The agenda began this Monday with the conference Que ningú t'eclipsi!, given by Joan de Dalmau at FiraReus Events. From there, the calendar will extend to other cultural spaces in the city with activities for the general and family public.
The initial conference was held this Monday at FiraReus Events.
The Reus Museum will host the photographic exhibition Under the Same Sky. The Xavier Amorós Central Library will add talks, children's activities with an inflatable planetarium, and bibliographic spaces dedicated to the universe.
The offer will also include outdoor cinema sessions with Gravity and Apollo XIII, the conference L'eclipsi del segle by Joan Anton Català, and the children's activity Planetari Bombolla. Thus, the preparation of the eclipse will combine scientific outreach and cultural programming in various Reus facilities.
The city council requests approved glasses and foresees a staggered exit on August 12
The council has warned that looking at the Sun without approved protection can cause serious and irreversible eye injuries. That is why it recommends using only certified glasses with the ISO 12312-2 standard or resorting to indirect observation systems.
In addition to monitoring the phenomenon, on August 12, the city council will activate a special security and traffic device. The municipal plan involves asking citizens for a staggered departure once the eclipse ends to reduce traffic jams on the access roads to Reus.
The official recommendation limits safe viewing to certified glasses according to the ISO 12312-2 standard or indirect viewing systems.