El Batel, Auditorio y Centro de Congresos, Cartagena

Auditorium and Conference Centre El Batel in Cartagena 

Tickets for performances at the El Batel Auditorio and Congress Centre in Cartagena are available from www.ticketmaster.es or directly from the auditorium.

The Auditorio y Palacio de Congresos El Batel , the auditorium and congress centre of El Batel in Cartagena opened in 2011 after construction began in 2004. The project was a long and complex one, dogged by financing issues, but the end result is a spectacular modern building which has already begun to feature in photoshoots for companies such as Mercedes.

This striking and sleek modern building is the work of the architectural studio Selgascano, run by the Madrilenean architects José Selgas and Lucía Cano, the project selected from amongst 70 options in 2001.

The main auditorium can hold an audience of 1,401 people on its three levels of seating, and is unusual in the fact that it is actually below sea level.

Sala A is divided into three main parts: the stalls, nearest the stage, where 565 people can be seated, amphitheatre 1, which holds 498, and the highest level, amphitheatre 2, where there are 332 seats.

Thanks to the dimensions of the stage, which occupies 224 square metres, it is possible to accommodate even the largest shows, and all performances can be supported by state-of-the-art technology and infrastructures.

This main hall also includes 4 simultaneous translation booths, meaning that conferences can be translated into four different languages at the same time.

There are screens, projectors, sound systems, microphones, a lighting gantry and all the facilities necessary to hold congresses and cultural events as part of the centre’s program. Access to the hall is easy, and six seats are reserved for wheelchair users.

There is also an exhibitions area of 600 square metres, which is open to new creative and artistic tendencies.

This design of the ultra-modern building is based on the marine traditions of the city, and its location next to the port has an important influence on the design as a whole.

The exterior features straight lines, similar to those of the containers on the freight vessels in the port next door, the lines of the port itself and the flat horizon of the calm sea.

Some of the materials used in the façade are extremely innovative: all are local, some have been used for the first time in the façade of this building, and all of them combine to provide airy, light interior spaces which enliven the inside of the building.

The complex structure is especially notable for the absence of pillars, creating large interior spaces with plenty of light and calling to mind the reduced gravity under the surface of the sea.

The space outside the building includes fir-tree wooden decking and various plants, and is a leisure area which adds to the attraction of the esplanade.

Where is the El Batel Auditorium and Congress Centre?

The Auditorium is located along the main waterside frontage of Cartagena, in an area known as the Muelle Alfonso XII, next to the ARQUA, Subaquatic Archaeology Museum. There is parking in the underground carpark about 50 metres away and a taxi rank nearby. Click Cartagena car parks.

There is also an article about parking for high-topped vehicles, Click parking in Cartagena, high topped vehicles.

Click for map, Paseo Alfonso XII, Cartagena

Box Office
Auditorio y Palacio de Congresos El Batel
Paseo Alfonso XII s/n CP: 30201 Cartagena, Murcia
Tel. 968 12 38 27

Online ticket sales are via ticketmaster.