The crowd goes wild: FC Barcelona reveals Camp Nou stadium’s animal inhabitants

I n the silence after the final whistle you can hear the blackbirds sing, or perhaps a chaffinch or a Sardinian warbler. Or, if night has already fallen, you may see the bats swoop low over the centre circle as the fans shuffle towards the exits. This is the Spotify Camp Nou, the home of Barcelona football club … but also of myriad creatures.

Barcelona is probably the first major football club in the world to produce a guide to its stadium’s wildlife, after carrying out a census of its animal occupants. The guide is part of the club rethinking its role in the community and its environmental impact, says Jordi Portabella, an environmentalist and former candidate for mayor of the city, now in charge of developing the club’s sustainability policy.

Portabella explains that a wildlife census was needed before the football season ends in May, when work will begin on remodelling the stadium. This will entail demolishing the entire upper stand to increase capacity from 99,354 to 105,000 spectators, work that will affect the many birds that nest there, as well as the colony of bats.

They are taking measures to protect the nests as best they can, says Portabella, and to establish new nesting areas to ensure the birds return when work is complete. Migratory species such as swallows and martins have been nesting on the exterior or inside the roof of the stadium since it was built in 1957.

“There’s an historical coexistence based on mutual respect,” says Portabella. “It’s as though the humans and the animals have come to a tacit agreement. For example, up in the stands we’re used to having bats flying around us during a match.”

The bats have made their home close to the tribuna, the seats reserved for the club president and the