Toulouse 2026 : Iván’s view (Day 1) – A day of many many Firsts

With my Spanish jersey nicely tucked into my suitcase, I’ve arrived for the first time to Toulouse, and to crowds of Frenchmen and women cheering their country against… mine.

Crossing streets with terraces filled with football fans, and trying to regain my hotel, that’s how my first ever Urban Sketchers Symposium started. On arrival, just a few minutes shy of the game, more novelties awaited, all the organization and new faces and the chance to put on my Spanish jersey and celebrate with a few of my compatriots present there too, notably Raul, co-correspondent and also compatriot.

So much for a great start and setting the pace for the upcoming days. On that note, grab some popcorn or cinema-snack of choice, and click play to watch the mini-doc of the first video of this year’s Symposium:

This was my first time in Toulouse, my first symposium and my first time ever as a video correspondent, so much for getting up to speed in high gear. Of course, I’ve seen some things from afar online and maps technology can help to find your way a bit, nevertheless, the plunge into the brick full pool of Toulouse was quite a handful for my eyes.

After the information and imagery overwhelm, my very big big first goal was to actually film the whole day, experience as much of the energy, atmosphere, the city and people I could, and somehow compress it all into a digestible video… to be edited and published on the same day! (Sort of…)

What I didn’t realize at the moment was, that filming around all day, getting to know the people, the city and all that comes with a first Symposium day, well, was only the 1st part, the 2nd part was reliving the whole thing in the editing room, where somehow it had to be a comprehensible and balanced story that would help anyone watching from around the world, have a tiny bit of “feels like being there”, or at least, that was one of my main goals.

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Check out my fellow correspondents’ recaps:
Gaël | D00 https://urbansketchers.org/2026/07/15/toulouse-2026-gaels-view-day-0/ / D01 https://urbansketchers.org/2026/07/15/toulouse-2026-gaels-view-day-1/
Raúl | D01 https://urbansketchers.org/2026/07/15/toulouse-2026-rauls-view-day-1/

To follow any of us, head over here:

Raúl | IG https://www.instagram.com/rauldeamo/
Gaël | IG https://www.instagram.com/croqueurfou/
Iván | IG / YT https://www.instagram.com/blankusi/ / https://www.youtube.com/@Blankusi