Montjuïc Magic Fountain to premiere its new show on La Mercè

The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc will once again light up the night sky with splendour later this month, after being switched off and drained for more than two years due to the longstanding drought. 

The new show will premiere on September 24, the city's La Mercè festival, with the "biggest" update the fountain has seen in the last thirty years.

While the Magic Fountain was switched off, the city council took the opportunity to improve its systems, including adding a technological system that provides "more flexibility, robustness, and operational reliability" to remote control system.

The fountain will also now be more energy efficient. The 4,760 incandescent white light bulbs have been replaced by 680 LED lights, meaning the council can calculate a reduction in energy use from 1,507 kilowatts to just 72.

Since July, tests have been carried out on the functioning of sound, water and light, and the council now considers the performance to be ready.

The first show will be the musical fireworks show for La Mercè on Sunday, September 28, at 10 pm.

From 2 October, the shows will resume their usual times, which are from from Thursday to Saturday, between 9 and 10 pm in October, and from 8 to 9 pm in November and December.

The last major update of the fountain's control system dates back to the 1990s. As it was done then and again now, the renovation works have stayed true to the historical architectural work of Carles Buïgas, who made the fountain for the 1929 International Exhibition.

The renovation work is part of the city's plan to refresh its ornamental fountains, with a planned investment of €6.6 million until 2028.

The objective of this improvement is to optimize the operation of the fountains and the use of water. In total, in four years, it is planned to work on 78 ornamental fountains in the city.

When the drought restrictions were lifted in April, local Barcelona authorities have been switching ornamental fountains back on, once they have been checked, cleaned, and filled.

Currently, around 65% of the city's fountains are back in operation, corresponding to phases I and II of reopening. From October, as planned, phase III will begin.