Catalonia's biggest human tower competition returns this weekend

The Concurs de Castells, the cornerstone event celebrating Catalonia's iconic human towers, takes place this weekend in Tarragona.

The event, which is held on the first weekend of October, every two years, at the Tarraco Arena Plaça (TAP), is a unique 'castells' (human towers) performance and the only  'castells' day that has an explicitly competitive format.

The competition pits the best teams of 'castells' against each other, with 42 'colles,' or groups, competing to build the tallest and most intricate structures.  

The competition kicked off Sunday, September 27 with 12 'colles' from the lowest tier competing in a preliminary round. The Castellers d'Esparreguera won the competition, a group from just northwest of Barcelona.

On Saturday at 4.30 pm, the competition continues at Tarraco Arena Plaça where 18 more 'colles' from the second tier face off. Finally, on Sunday, the top 12 colles in the rankings will compete for the championship title, starting at 10 am.  

This year marks the 30th edition of the Tarragona Castells Competition, which first took place in 1932 and became a regular event in the 1980s. The Castellers de Vilafranca have dominated the Concurs since the mid-1990s, winning 12 of the last 14 editions. 

How the competition works 

The competition follows a written set of rules that assigns points to each castell, where a jury validates the scores and votes in cases of uncertainty. Participating 'colles' have up to five rounds to raise their structures with the three best towers determining each team's score and, therefore, their place in the final standings.  

This format then encourages participating 'colles' to showcase their best constructions, bringing together some of the most spectacular 'castells' in a single day. The group that receives the most points will leave with a €16,000 prize.

However, this scoring system is somewhat controversial. The Minyons de Terrassa, one of the top 'colles', have never participated, as they believe that 'castells' shouldn't be turned into a competition decided by points and rankings.

How to watch

Tickets are entirely sold out to attend the competition in-person, but each day will be broadcasted on TAC12 TV and the Xarxa de Televisions Locals channels. You can also find the broadcast on the TAC12 TV Youtube channel. 

To learn more about castells, check out this podcast from 2022.