The Plaça del Castell in Torredembarra will be the venue on Sunday, September 27th, for the first of three rounds of the Castells Competition. The event will feature twelve 'colles' ranked between 31st and 42nd in the Estrella Concurs Ranking. In case of predicted rain, the competition will move to the Pavelló Sant Jordi, with a final decision on Thursday, September 24th, at 08:00 AM. The performance will begin at 10:00 AM.
The presentation of the round took place at the Town Hall's Council Chamber in Torredembarra, presided over by Mayor Raúl García, the Councillor for Culture of the Tarragona City Council, Sandra Ramos, and the Competition Director, Xavier González. The mayor highlighted the event's importance for the city's 'casteller' identity, while Ramos emphasized the round's growth and relevance.
Competition Director Xavier Gonzàlez detailed the organization, including the division of the first three rounds into three cycles with joint performances, and the fourth and fifth rounds with a single cycle each. As a novelty, if a construction is of difficulty equal to or greater than five of seven, the teams will perform solo. Castellers de Badalona will open the event and Xiquets de Cambrils will close it in these cases.
This edition marks the debut in the Castells Competition for Xiquets de Cambrils and Esperxats de l’Estany. Castellers de Badalona (2016) and Castellers de Castelldefels (last year) are the only ones to have successfully built an eight-story tower in Torredembarra. The local 'Nois de la Torre' will not participate, having qualified for Saturday's round at the Tarraco Arena.
The winners of the last rounds in Torredembarra have been Colla Castellera de Figueres (2018), Nois de la Torre and Castellers de Berga (ex aequo, 2022), and again Nois de la Torre (2024). There was no competition in 2020 due to the pandemic. The event will be broadcast live on TAC12 and La Xarxa+.
The relationship between the Castells Competition and Torredembarra dates back to 1997 with Concurs7, which merged into the Biennial in 2014. That year, rain forced the suspension of the competition, with a final victory for Tirallongues de Manresa.
