The Guggenheim Bilbao board has decided not to proceed with the museum's expansion into the Urdaibai natural reserve, due to administrative, judicial hurdles and social opposition. The decision, announced by Basque authorities, ends a project launched in 2008 and revived in 2021. Key figures like Bizkaia's deputy general, Elixabete Etxanobe, acknowledge the challenges that made the initiative unfeasible.
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, the Guggenheim Bilbao board agreed to halt the museum's expansion into the Urdaibai biosphere reserve, the only one in the Basque Country. This decision, announced by director Miren Arzalluz, Bizkaia deputy general Elixabete Etxanobe, and Culture Minister Ibone Bengoetxea, stems from administrative, urban planning, and judicial obstacles, alongside strong social and environmental opposition.
The plan, conceived in 2008 by Bizkaia Provincial Council and revived in 2021, envisioned two sites: one in Gernika at the demolished former Dalia cutlery site, with 2,500 square meters on a 20,286-square-meter plot for educational activities; and another in Murueta at the still-operational shipyards, featuring a 3,700-square-meter building on 41,389 square meters, including galleries and gastronomic spaces. In 2022, 40 million euros were allocated but remain frozen. Imanol Pradales, current lehendakari, championed the project as a provincial leader, even expressing a desire to preside over its 2024 opening.
A two-year reflection period, announced by former lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu at the end of 2023, ended without feasibility. The Agirre Lehendakaria Center's listening process showed 80% of 660 respondents opposed, with only 8% in favor. Lawsuits before the National Court challenge the coastal protection reduction from 100 to 20 meters in Murueta, filed by groups like Ekologistak Martxan and Stop Guggenheim Urdaibai. Additionally, the Murueta shipyards' concession, from 1943 to 2018, creates disputes as the company remains active.
Platforms like Urdaibai Stop commissioned expert reports against the shipyard's operations in the reserve. Greenpeace hailed the decision as a 'great victory' against a 'nature-destroying' project. EH Bildu spokesperson Pello Otxandiano stated: 'Common sense has prevailed and reality has overridden the PNV.' The Guggenheim Bilbao, with 1.2 million visitors in 2025, will explore alternatives to grow as a cultural institution.
