Total solar eclipse, outdoor film screenings, 'festes majors': what's on this August

With events ranging from music to cultural festivals, art, and celebration, there are countless things to do in Barcelona and around Catalonia this summer. 

Here's a selection of some of the best plans and what's on this August. 

Total solar eclipse | August 12 | Astronomical event | Totality only visible in southern and western Catalonia

On August 12, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes to southern and western Catalonia. Day will become night, as the path of the moon perfectly covers the sun for some minutes. Authorities have published a list of recommended official observation points, if you're looking for somewhere to go for it. In Barcelona, the eclipse coverage will only be 99.97% - and that 0.03% will make all the difference, as enough light will still reach the city so as to not turn day into night. As such, if you can travel for it, try be in the path of totality for what will truly be an amazing experience. 

Torneig d'Històrics | August 3-9 | Football | Camp Municipal del Guinardó

Catalonia has a rich football tradition, and each summer, FC Martinenc host a week-long festival involving a host of the territory's most historic and significant lower-league clubs. Once again, as normal, CE Europa and Sant Andreu are both competing, giving the tournament participation from Spain's third tier of the football pyramid. Group games are held Monday-Thursday, with semifinals on Saturday and the grand final on Sunday. Tickets are available per day or for the full week.

Brunch Electronik Festival | August 7-9 | Live music | Parc del Fòrum 

Some of the best names in electronic music rock up to Parc del Fòrum for another edition of the Brunch Electronik Festival. Among the headliners performing are Floating Points, Jeff Mills, Shanti Celeste, Chaos in the CBD, Yu Su, and many more. 

Festa Major de Gràcia | August 15-21 | Traditional festival | Gràcia, Barcelona

Gràcia's festa major is perhaps the best-known local traditional street festival in the Catalan capital, with images of its marvelously decorated streets amazing visitors each year. Plus, the week's activities are complemented by a series of concerts and activities.  

Festa Major de Sants | August 22-30 | Traditional festival | Sants, Barcelona

Taking place the week after Gràcia is Sants' version. The neighbourhood does something very similar to Gràcia, with lavishly decorated streets, but all on a slightly smaller scale, if you want to skip the hordes that flock to Gràcia.

Circuit Festival | August 1-9 | LGBTQI+ | Barcelona

The world’s top parties, promoters, and international artists come together in Barcelona to create an unforgettable week of music, celebration, and sun-soaked fun, turning the city into what it is known for today: the international gay capital of the summer.

Beach cinema | August 2 and 6 | Free screenings | Platja de Sant Sebastià, Barcelona

Each summer, the Cinema Lliure a la Platja sets up stall in Barcelona, Sitges, Tarragona, Palamós, Tossa de Mar, and Arenys de Mar with a fantastic offering of free cinema screenings in a beautiful natural environment. This August, you'll get the chance to enjoy screenings in Barcelona on August 2 and 6.  

Mecal Air Barcelona | Fridays from July 17 - August 28 | Short film screenings | Can Framis 

A series of free outdoor short film themed sessions. On Fridays in the summer, outdoor short film nights return to Poblenou, organized by Mecal, the Barcelona International Short Film and Animation Festival. Admission is free and there is a bar service with food and drinks.

Summer Cinema for the Whole Family | July 8 - September 5 | Film screenings | CCCB, Barcelona

How do filmmakers, animators and artists imagine and recreate the city? To find out, we invite you to summer afternoon cinema at the CCCB. Every Wednesday and Saturday we present screenings of animated and experimental shorts for all audiences.

Port Flea | August 9 | Flea and vintage market | Port Olímpic, Moll Mestral 

Barcelona's flea markets can throw up a lot of surprises. From domestic antiques, rare coins, war medals and memorabilia, to even vintage clothes and retro football shirts, there are bargains and treasures to be found across the board. With great DJs soundtracking your Sunday bargain hunt, there's not many better plans.

Hinotori, The Wings of the Phoenix | July 22-August 22 | Japanese drum performance | Teatre Apolo 

Barcelona's historic Teatre Apolo welcomes a show so full of energy that the company explained cannot be described as simply a performance or concert because they create "delicate" music with a great diversity of sound. The performance features the traditional Japanese taiko drums. Each drum has its own name, and more than 40 feature as part of the performance. 

Castell de Peralada Festival | July 17 - August 9 | Music festival | Castell de la Peralada, Peralada 

Set in a medieval castle, the Castell de Peralada Festival is a unique and exceptional summer concert series. This weekend kicks off the festival, which includes concerts and recitals, chamber concerts and small-format operas. The festival provides a unique experience with the Auditorium set in the castle park gardens as the location for concerts during the summer, while the church and the cloister host the recitals and other performances.

Shakespeare in the Park | July 9 - August 3 | Theater performance | Parc de l'Estació del Nord, Barcelona

This weekend kicks off the annual month-long Parking Shakespeare production of Shakespeare in the Park. Open to everyone, Parking Shakespeare transforms the Parc de l'Estació del Nord into an open-air theater 5 days a week. This summer's performance is of 'Hamlet and the Rotten Things.'

Sala Montjuïc | July 10 - August 5 | Concerts and cinema | Castell de Montjuïc, Barcelona  

Over the course of the summer there will be 16 screenings in their original language with subtitles, combining classic films, contemporary cinema and internationally acclaimed titles. There will be a live concert to kick off each evening, making it an experience beyond cinema. 

Art Nou | June 25 - September 9 | Emerging art festival | Barcelona and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat

Art Nou is the Emerging Art Festival in Barcelona and L'Hospitalet that offers young national and international artists the opportunity to establish their first professional relationship with the art market, galleries, self-managed spaces and institutions dedicated to emerging art. The 15th edition of Art Nou features an exhibition programme with more than 50 shows and over 110 artists; an extensive programme of activities including guided tours, openings, artist talks, performances, screenings and events in galleries, institutions and independent spaces.

Live music

Jethro Tull | August 4 | Cambrils

Mika | August 8 | Cap Roig Festival

The Corrs | August 9 | Porta Ferrada

Rigoberta Bandini | August 14 | Porta Ferrada

Nile Rodgers & Chic | August 19 | Porta Ferrada

The Weeknd | September 1 | Olympic Stadium

Ty Segall | September 21 | Parallel 62

Portalblau Festival | June 6-August 9 | Cultural festival | L'Escala 

Portalblau is a festival that celebrates the Mediterranean as a space for encounter, light and critical thinking. Between sea and history, music, the performing arts and the spoken word engage in dialogue with the landscape, making each edition an experience that connects creativity, heritage and community. The programme features a diverse range of events in venues of great heritage value. This year marks the nineteenth edition of the Portalblau Festival, consolidating a cultural project that, over time, has forged its own identity within the country’s festival scene.

Out of Focus: Another Vision of Art | May 21 - September 27 | Exhibition | CaixaForum Barcelona

Monet's Water Lilies series introduced the concept of blur in art, using the blurred and indistinct as expressive elements. This exhibition explores how this phenomenon provided a new way of understanding the world for subsequent artists, a key to reinterpreting some aspects of modern and contemporary art.

The Cult of Beauty | May 21 - November 8 | Exhibition | CCCB

Based on the ideals of human beauty that exist in all eras and cultures, the latest exhibition at the CCCB traces the evolution of these ideals throughout history. ‘The Cult of Beauty’ analyzes how aesthetic canons have been constructed, and stands up for bodies and beauties excluded from the norm. Through 400 pieces, the exhibition puts works, objects, and installations into dialogue to address how the idea of ​​beauty is conditioned by morality, status, and gender.

Chez Matisse | March 27-August 16 | Exhibition | CaixaForum, Barcelona

An exploration of Henri Matisse's trajectory, evolution, scope, and influence on international artists and avant-garde movements. The exhibition highlights part of the immense dialogue surrounding his name in 20th- and 21st-century art, from his first self-portrait to the artistic freedom of his later paintings and gouaches.

Korean Film Festival Barcelona | September 2-6 | Film festival | Cinemes Girona, Barcelona

The Korean Film Festival Barcelona is the first Korean film festival in the city, created with the aim of bringing Korean culture and cuisine closer to audiences through film.

Experience 'The Last Days of Pompeii' | Open March 20, 2026 | Exhibition | IDEAL Montjuïc

Towering flames of lava taking over the skies, ash and soot flooding homes and buildings; utter devastation and total destruction inevitable. ‘The Last Days of Pompeii’ is the newest exhibition from IDEAL Digital Arts Centre, taking visitors back to 79 AD and one of the most compelling episodes of ancient history. The experience seeks to bring visitors closer to the lives and culture of the people who lived in the shadow of Vesuvius. 

New Phenomena Experience cinema | Open from April 2, 2026 | Phenomena Cinemas

Barcelona's famed Phenomena Cinema is entering a new phase, offering audiences a more "sensory" cinematic experience, aiming to let viewers perceive films with the technical precision intended by their creators. Phenomena Experience first opened in December 2014. Last September, the theater closed for renovations and was simultaneously announced as the recipient of the Carlo Lizzani 2025 European Best Theater Award at the Venice Film Festival.

Joan Miró: Cirlces | March 13, 2026 - March 12, 2028 | Art | Joan Miró Foundation

A new exhibition reorganizes the Miró collection and invites visitors to reinterpret the artist's work through Joan Miró's creative process rather than a traditional chronological or thematic narrative. The show presents 102 works from across the artist's career and will run for two years, with some pieces rotating every six months.

'The Perpetual Movement of the Wall' | February 13-September 6 | Art | Tàpies Museum

The Tàpies Museum has opened a new exhibition, 'The Perpetual Movement of the Wall', exploring what Antoni Tàpies' exhibitions were like in the 1950s. Not only are the artworks recreated, but also how they were displayed and how critics and the public responded.

New works by Banksy | Until December 2026 | Exhibition | Moco Museum

The Moco Museum Barcelona recently unveiled a new exhibition featuring the British pseudonymous artist Banksy. 'New works by Banksy,' showcases 25 artworks, most of them new additions to the museum’s existing collection of the artist’s pieces. It is the largest exhibition of Banksy’s work ever held in Spain and includes two previously unseen pieces in a museum setting. All the pieces share a common theme: power and its disruption, a recurring motif in the artist's oeuvre.

Visit 50,000-year-old Siberian mammoth | Every day | Museum | CosmoCaixa, Barcelona 

Barcelona's CosmoCaixa Science Museum unveiled the latest addition to its exhibition: a large six-meter-long and 3.5-meter-tall Siberian mammoth. The mammoth is between 40,000 and 50,000 years old and will now be part of the permanent exposition. 

‘Extraterrestrials. Is there life beyond Earth?’ | Until August 30 | Science exhibition | CosmoCaixa science museum

'Extraterrestrials - Is There Life Outside Earth?' delves into topics such as our place in the cosmos, the meaning of the concept of life, and how literature and cinema have shaped the collective imagination about what form alien life could take. Visitors begin by discovering Earth's place in the cosmos. The exhibition then explores, from a historical perspective, the great philosophical debate between those who argue that life is unique to our planet, and those who believe in the existence of other inhabited worlds.