The raising of the image of the Virgin of Pilar, which will preside over the Flower Offering tomorrow, has become this noon, for the first time, a solemn act as part of the Pilar’s programming and in which the mayor of Zaragoza has participated , Natalia Chueca, together with the Minister of Culture, Education and Tourism, Sara Fernández, and the archbishop of the Diocese of Zaragoza, Carlos Escribano. More than 7,700 people, most of them attending the event, have passed through the Plaza del Pilar at that time.
For many years, many citizens have come close to the moment when municipal workers raised the image to the top of this 15.5 meter high structure. This year, the Zaragoza City Council has proposed this symbolic gesture of elevating the image with an event in which, with the cover of the usual ejaculation “Blessed and Praised Be the Hour”, the members of the Amici Musicae choir have sung the Hymn to the Virgin of the Pilar. Subsequently, Archbishop Carlos Escribano expressed his excitement at this novelty prior to the Offering, while Mayor Natalia Chueca celebrated this day because “our patron saint deserved something more at the level of our Virgin. From the 20,000 carnations we have gone to 7 MILLIONS of flowers, the equivalent of the “Garden of Europe”, the famous garden of the Netherlands that is a tourist attraction and is present in 32 hectares. Tomorrow the Garden of Europe will be in Zaragoza, demonstrating the city’s love for it. the Virgin of Pilar.
The event closed with a folkloric air, with the jota “Gigantes y Cabezudos”, and the jotas dance with the group Otero del Cid, in addition to the final touches of the installation of the image.
STRUCTURE CHARACTERISTICS
The great mantle that tomorrow will be dressed in flowers (more than 7 million can be placed on it, weighing 54 tons), is 15.5 meters high, weighs 40 tons and has 6 levels. Around 75 workers, with a joint effort of around 30 hours, have allowed the construction of this metal skeleton that presides over the Plaza del Pilar.
The image, made of polyester fiber, weighs 15 kg and measures 1.43 m (almost four times the size of the original, which measures 36 cm). The crown with glows has a diameter of 2.64 m. The mantle measures 2.50 m high, with a total height of 6.70 m and weighs about 525 kg, not counting the flowers.
The Virgin’s cloak will be made with red flowers on this occasion, and the Cross of Lorraine, which is always red (framed in white).
During the Offering there will be the participation of 30 gardeners, 64 gardening assistants, as well as 175 people who will be collaborating in the assembly and development of the parade. Likewise, there will be about 260 volunteers and personnel from Civil Protection, Red Cross, Firefighters, Local and National Police.
The most important traditional event of the Pilar Festival once again registers a historic milestone in 2024 after exceeding a thousand registered groups, a total of 1,059, which represents an unprecedented increase of over 21% compared to last year, 14,400 people further. In 2023, there were 870 groups that participated in the Offering on the city’s big day.
The Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Assumption and arrival of Jesus at Calvary in the Oliver neighborhood will be the first to place their flowers at 6:30 in the morning in the structure of the Plaza del Pilar that will open an event that will likely end around at 11:30 p.m.
