Barcelona's La Mercè extends 2026 celebration to Parc de les Glòries and Bogatell Beach

Barcelona's largest public street festival, La Mercè, will be held from September 23 until 27, and will spread across all ten districts in Barcelona. 

Wednesday afternoon will feature opening remarks from master winemaker, Antoni Falgueras, with performances continuing that evening. 

Thursday, September 24, will be filled with family activities, popular culture and street arts throughout the day, with Parc de les Glòries opening as the stage for Mercè Street Arts. 

Friday, September 25, the fanfare will continue in the evening, with pyrotechnics and concerts. 

The ‘correfoc’ folkloric fire run will arrive Saturday, September 26, entering through the 'Porta de l'Infern', the ‘gates of hell’, which will premiere as part of La Mercè's celebration. 

Saturday will also feature a co-production with the Department of Culture of the Catalan Government in Park Güell.

The event will fuse traditional music and dance with contemporary sounds to commemorate the Gaudí Year and 100 years of Park Güell. 

The festival will conclude on Sunday, September 27, with a day full of events and the much anticipated La Mercè Pyromusical. 

The weekend's closing show of fireworks set to music will be held at Bogatell beach for the first time. 

Guest City 

Each year, a different city from around the world is chosen to share the festivities with Barcelona, and this year's partner is Shanghai.

The city is chosen to commemorate 25 years of being sister-cities with Barcelona. 

Shanghai will be the first Asian city to be the guest of honour. 

The celebration of this anniversary has allowed more than a hundred artists, from both the Chinese city and the community residents in Barcelona, to participate in the programming of La Mercè, according to Barcelona's mayor. 

Opening Speech

The afternoon opening will feature Falgueras who is a master winemaker and the current operator of Celler de Gelida. 

Falgueras is the fourth generation running the business after his great-grandfather founded the shop on Carrer de Vallespir in 1895. 

Falgueras shared that it is a great honor to represent all of Barcelona's commerce. "We must support all of the unique stores that cannot be found anywhere else," he said.

He will be joined on stage during the opening remarks by his daughter, the sommelier, Mertixell Falgueras. 

2026 Poster 

The poster for the 2026 celebration was designed by Barcelona visual artist Cinta Vidal. 

The poster focuses on perspectives, routes discoveries, and diverse views with the idea of Barcelona unfolded. 

The poster represents the different districts of the city, as well as some of the scenes of the festa major that takes place every September. 

The poster design will also be seen as a mural at the Paco Candel library in Barcelona. 

Vidal said that one of the reasons that led her to decide to play a role in the festival was because of the mural, "I love murals and I have never done one so special in Barcelona," she said.