The world's most famous unfinished building may finally be completed after architects said that the basilica would be finished by 2026, marking the centenary of the death of the Sagrada Familia's creator, Antoní Gaudí.
Esteve Camps, the president of the organisation in charge of realising the original masterplan of Gaudí, said the building should be completed within two years, some 144 years after the first stone was laid on the site.
If the deadline is reached, the basilica would include the 172.5-metre central tower dedicated to Jesus Christ, making the Sagrada Familia Barcelona’s tallest building.
However, work on other sculptures and decorations, as well as a controversial stairway leading to what would be the main entrance, is expected to continue until 2034.
The stairway plans have provoked opposition from local residents and businesses because if it is realised, it would involved the demolition of blocks of housing and offices next to the existing building and dislodging about 1,000 families and businesses.
Camps said he remained committed to the extension plans despite objections from some residents.
He said "as their heirs of Gaudí", the architects planned to continue with the project for the extension "just as Gaudí intended".
He said he was in talks with Jaume Collboni, the mayor of Barcelona, about the future of the extension plans.
“I don’t have a crystal ball to tell me when they will make a decision,” he told a press conference last Wednesday.
Salvador Barroso, a lawyer and representative of the Association for those Affected by the Sagrada Familia, a local protest group, is taking legal action to halt the proposed stairway.
Barroso claims the stairway was never in Gaudí’s original plans and it was dreamed up by disciples of the architect after his untimely death. The original plans were destroyed by anarchists at the outbreak of the Spanish civil war in 1936 but painstakingly pieced together by successive architects.
"The Sagrada Familia says a lot of things but they do not have the final say. The council will decide. The Lord may finally decide not human kind," he said.
Barcelona City Council has not come to a decision over the planned extension, a spokesman told Euronews Culture.
“We are working with representatives of the Sagrada Familia, neighbouring residents and other organisations to find the best solution to finish the works and the necessities of the city,” he said.
Barcelona wants to “guarantee the right to housing and minimize the number of people affected”, he added.
The work on the building is funded by the admission receipts costing between €25-€40 from tourists visiting the basilica every year.
Last year, 4.707 million people visited the Sagrada Familia, 24.7% more than the previous year but not as many as the 4,717 million who came in 2019 before the pandemic.
The largest number of visitors - 85% - come from abroad, with the biggest group by nationality from the United States (19% of the total), followed by France (7.5%), Italy (7.2%) and Britain (5.9%). Spaniards made up 14.6% of visitors.
The income for 2023 was €126.9 million, all from private sources like visitors receipts. In terms of spending, 52% of the budget went on construction, 26% on management of the basilica.
How the rest is spent is not known as the church is not obliged to publish its accounts.
Some 51,696 people attended 66 international masses at the Sagrada Familia last year while 280,670 worshippers went to services at the basilica.
There have been efforts to 'internationalise' the Sagrada Familia brand with a concert with the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra at the temple and an exhibition at a series of museums in Japan.
