200,000 people attend fireworks show to close La Mercè

Around 200,000 people gathered at Nova Icària beach on Sunday for the ‘Piromusical’, the traditional fireworks show that marks an end to La Mercè. The fireworks accompanied a playlist curated by Josep Montero, leader of Oques Grasses, who placed a heavy emphasis on music in Catalan. 

The musical mix was then placed under the responsibility of designer and technician, Marçal Cruz, of the Oido studio, and Pyrotechnics, who also designed the fireworks show along the breakwater of the Bogatell beach. 

The "auteur-style" format for the Piromusical premiered in 2023, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Barcelona’s biggest electronic music festival Sónar. That year, the festival curated the music; in 2024, Rosalía created the show's soundtrack, and Estopa took over in 2025. 

This year, marking the fourth edition, Oques Grasses joined the list of artists who have left their mark on one of La Mercè’s most iconic and heavily attended events.

Oques Grasses’ participation in the Piromusical comes at a particularly significant moment in the band's career, just days before their farewell concerts at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.

Construction at the Fira de Barcelona in Montjuïc forced organizers to look for a new stage for the artificial light show and, for the first time, the performance was held at Nova Icària beach instead of Avinguda Maria Cristina.

Mexico City to be next year's guest city

Mexico City will be the guest city for next year’s La Mercè festival, as announced by Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni Sunday in an interview with betevé.

The mayor said the city has a "rich and spectacular" culture and predicted that "it will be very special." 

"They are very eager to come," Collboni said, who recently returned from a trip to New York in which the mayor of the Mexican capital told him so. 

The mayor pointed out that in the Catalan capital there is a Mexican community that maintains "strong ties" with Catalonia and Barcelona, making it the perfect city to serve as the 2027 La Mercè guest city.