At the local level, the Local Regime Act 1985 gave city and town councils administrative powers over local heritage, cultural activities and amenities, and “leisure activities”. The law states that population centres of over 5 000 inhabitants are obliged to provide library services, and it allows the municipalities to promote “complementary activities to those provided by other government bodies and, in particular, those concerning culture”. In practice, local authorities have almost unlimited power to promote cultural activities at the municipal level. Their proximity to the citizens and the political rewards of such activities explain the huge expansion of local cultural events up to the start of the 1990s. Today, the bulk of public cultural spending (over 50%) is carried out at the local level.
A distinction should be drawn between the bigger cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Valladolid, Bilbao, Seville, Oviedo, Salamanca, La Coruña, Santiago de Compostela), capable of funding major projects and activities, and the medium-sized and smaller towns, that only provide the basics (libraries) and support patron-saint festivals and other strictly local events.
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