Three bertsolari championships will be held in autumn

Last year, the bertsolari championships of Biscay and Xilaba (the one contended among participants of Labourd, Lower Navarre and Soule) had to be canceled owing to the pandemic. Besides, the championship of Navarre, which would have taken place at the beginning of this year, was postponed with no date because of the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 crises.

Given the evolution of the situation, the associations of bertsolaritza in Biscay, Navarre and the one from Labourd, Lower Navarre and Soule have decided to carry out these tournaments in autumn 2021. The championships of Navarre and Xilaba will have eight performances and two more in Biscay. In some few cases, several performances will take place on the same day, but in overall, they have been scheduled and fitted together in the best way possible, avoiding overlaps.

Last year Xilaba was canceled in the quarterfinals. The bad situation of the pandemic triggered a set of measures in France last autumn, including the cancellation of cultural events. Thus, once the situation has improved and cultural acts have been allowed again, the competition will restart on September 18 and the final will take place on November 13.

Regarding the championship of Biscay, after finishing the qualification round, it was decided not to continue with the following stages until the situation would improve. Therefore, it will begin on October 3 and we will know who wins it on December 18.

The pre-qualifying rounds in Navarre will take place in June

The bertsolaris championships of Araba and Navarre were meant to take place at the beginning of this year. In Araba, instead of the individual competition, a championship in couples was organized. However, in Navarre, the association decided to put off the tournament until the situation got better. Finally, it will begin on October 2, and it will end on November 27.

Nevertheless, there will be pre-qualifying rounds in June. Details about this stage and the three championships will be released shortly as autumn approaches. In September, we will evaluate the situation and necessary measures will be taken.