La Mercè, Barcelona’s main festival, takes place from September 23 to 27 with 109 concerts, 55 popular culture performances, 180 street show performances by 68 companies, and new venues such as Plaça de les Glòries, Plaça de Sarrià, and Plaça Comas, to bring the program to the city’s ten districts. Below we review the main activities as a guide.
Popular culture
On Wednesday, La Mercè will start with the traditional proclamation, this year by master winemaker Toni Falgueras and his daughter, sommelier Meritxell Falgueras, from Celler de Gelida in Sants. Immediately after, the Toc d’Inici (8 p.m.) will sound and the popular procession will set off with the gegants of Santa Maria del Mar, the capgrossos, the Àliga, the Tarasca, and the Víbria, on a route from La Virreina to Plaça Sant Jaume.
The day of the 24th will start early with the Matinades de Grallers (8 a.m.), culminating in front of City Hall, where from 10:30 a.m. there will be the planting and dance of gegants, and from 1 p.m., the Diada Castellera de la Mercè with the participation of the city’s colles. In the afternoon, at 6:30 p.m., the Mercè parade will begin, departing from Plaça Catalunya. On the 25th, Ballades d’Esbarts at Sant Jaume (9 p.m.) and Passejada de Dracs i Bèsties at Plaça Comercial (9 p.m.). Also, cobles and sardanes in front of the Sagrada Família on Saturday (11 a.m.) and the traditional correfocs (children’s at 6 p.m.; adults at 8:30 p.m., Passeig de Gràcia with Provença), featuring the premiere of the new Porta de l’Infern (more information on page 4). As a grand finale, the Diada Històrica Castellera on Sunday (11 a.m., Plaça Sant Jaume).
As a novelty, the Natura square in Park Güell will host on the 24th the dance and popular music show Decostumari (7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.), within the framework of the Gaudí year and the park’s centenary. The piece, directed by Pere Seda and featuring about fifty artists on stage, includes the participation of Barcelona’s esbarts and the Orquestra Músiques d’Arrel with a composition created for the occasion.
Concerts
La Mercè is synonymous with music. This time there will be a total of 109 concerts spread across 14 venues in the city as part of the Música Mercè and BAM (Barcelona Acció Musical) programs.
Among the big names this year are Love of Lesbian, who will perform on Saturday at Bogatell beach, a stage that will also host Al·lèrgiques al Pol·len, La Pegatina, and Svetlana that day, and the day before Miki Núñez and Buhos, among others. On Avinguda Maria Cristina will be Els Amics de les Arts, Els Catarres, and Maria Jaume on Friday, and Leire Martínez and Paula Koops on Saturday night.
But the program is broad and includes artists such as Sabor de Gràcia, the delicate voices of Pol Batlle and Luísa Sobral, the singer-songwriter Nacho Vegas, the Latin American rock of Aterciopelados, the unique voice of Maika Makovski, the afropop of Def Mama Def, and the experimental folk and avant-garde jazz of Fuensanta. Meanwhile, BAM offers 39 concerts, from the electronic hip-hop of Uzi Freyja to the rock of The Slates, including the first Barcelona concerts of La 126, La Valentina, Islandman, The Slates, Imarhan, and Daoud, among others.
Nou Barris will once again be the epicenter of classical music with concerts by the Orchestra and Choir of the Gran Teatre del Liceu (on the 24th), the OBC (on the 25th), the Barcelona Municipal Band (on the 26th), and Marco Mezquida (on the 27th).
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Performing arts
The Mercè Arts de Carrer (MAC) will turn Barcelona into a large open-air stage. The program is organized around seven spaces – the Fòrum, Estació del Nord, Aqüeducte Park, Trinitat Park, Palauet Albéniz and Joan Maragall gardens, Port Olímpic, and for the first time, Plaça de les Glòries – which together will host shows by 68 companies and more than 200 artists.
Highlights include, among others, Emergency exit, a large immersive experience by La Fura dels Baus, Eyesberg, and Satori (on the 24th, Moll de la Fusta); Perceptions, the sculptural structure that Cie. Bivouac will turn into a stage for their balancing acts (on the 26th, at the Fòrum); Fleurir les abîmes, by creator Claire Ducreux (26th and 27th, Joan Maragall gardens); and Serena, by Circ Bover (26th and 27th, Port Olímpic).
The big territorial novelty this year is Les Glòries, which will become a space dedicated to urban nature, music, and street arts, with seven shows concentrated on September 24, including Tres Tristes Trols by the Lanördika company, the itinerant Girafes en ruta by Brava Arts and Sac Espectacles, and the interactive game installation Repte Gaudí by Circ de les Mussaranyes.
Exhibitions and open doors
City facilities and cultural centers will open their doors for La Mercè and offer exhibitions exploring popular culture. Among them is Moltes Mercès at the Museu Frederic Marès (until 12/X), which showcases the 48 posters of the main festival created since 1979. Additionally, there will be a display of dragons and beasts in El Born (until 26/IX), the popular procession exhibition at La Virreina (from 11 to 23 and 25 to 27/IX), the gegants exhibition at City Hall (until 22/IX), and two exhibitions at La Casa dels Entremesos, Singulars de la festa and Restaurats.
Also, on the 24th, the CCCB, MNAC (with reservation), Macba, Museu Picasso (with registration), Museu Tàpies, CosmoCaixa, CaixaForum, Museu Olímpic i de l’Esport, Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, Museu de la Música, Pedralbes Monastery, Montjuïc Castle, all Muhba venues, Arxiu Fotogràfic de Barcelona, Llotja de Mar, Palau Güell (with reservation), Museu de Ciències Naturals, Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion, Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Fundació Miró, DHub, Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya, Museu Etnològic i Cultures del Món, Mirador de la Torre Glòries (half price from 23 to 25), and Poble Espanyol (with reservation) will open their doors for free. The Sagrada Familia is raffling 20,000 tickets to visit the temple from September 24 to 27 (registration on the website until Sunday).
Shanghai, the guest city
The Chinese megacity arrives in Barcelona as the guest city for Mercè 2026 with many proposals. The most notable is the pyrotechnic show of 750 drones by Flock Drone Art Studio, El fil vermell, which will take place at Espigó del Gas beach on the 24th. Musically, there will be the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Jazz Ensemble, the Shanghai Restoration Project, and the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, one of the major groups dedicated to Chinese musical heritage. Chinese performing arts will also have a significant presence at MAC, with the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe, a grand acrobatic gala with group acts (26th and 27th, Fòrum); Shanghai Rhythms in Dance (Estació del Nord, 24th, 26th, and 27th), short choreographies connecting traditional references with contemporary languages; and the installation by Run and Paloma Chen in Trinitat Park until Sunday the 27th.
The Pyromusical
La Mercè will say goodbye, as always, with the Pyromusical, which this year moves to Nova Icària beach due to works at the Montjuïc fairgrounds. For the fourth consecutive year, the soundtrack is created by an invited artist or group – it was Sónar in 2023, Rosalía in 2024, and Estopa in 2025. This time it will be Josep Montero, leader of Oques Grasses – who will say farewell in October with four concerts at the Olympic Stadium – who will create a tailored playlist for the fireworks show on Sunday (10 p.m.), with a proposal he has previewed as eclectic and with a strong presence of Catalan. The musical mix is by Marçal Cruz and the fireworks design is by Pirotècnia Igual.
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