Pride, futbol, renaissance and drones: what's on this weekend

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

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

Pride Barcelona | July 15 - 18 | Celebration | Various locations, Barcelona

Pride Barcelona is one of the most important LGBTQIA+ events in southern Europe and this year is focusing on intersectionality. Throughout the month they have hosted events, all leading up to this weekend. From July 15 to 18, Pride brings together their biggest events that combine advocacy, visibility and celebration throughout Barcelona. On stages at Plaça Universitat and Passeig Lluís Companys, Barcelona will be filled with celebration. The weekend will include artists, DJs, shows, drag, queer culture and much more. The four days will culminate on Saturday, July 18 at the Barcelona Pride demonstration starting at 6 pm at  Plaça Universitat going down Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and Passeig de Sant Joan to end at Passeig Lluís Companys.

World Cup Watch | July 19 | Sports | Plataforma Marina del Fòrum, Barcelona 

*UPDATED VENUE* Spain's world cup team beat France on Tuesday, sending them into the World Cup Final this Sunday. The perfect location in Barcelona to watch Spain take on Argentina with other fans is the Fòrum Marina Platform, with access via Carrer de Josep Pla and Avinguda del Litoral, in the Sant Martí district. Other cities showing the match on big screens across Catalonia include Sabadell, Castelldefels, Badalona, Terrassa, and Tarragona.

Renaissance Festival | July 16 - 19 | Cultural festival | Various locations, Tortosa 

This weekend, Tortosa transforms to revive the splendor of the Renaissance. The southern city becomes a grand historical stage with streets, squares and shops regaining their 16th-century appearance. During the four days the old town turns into an immersive space featuring period costumes, shows, markets and historical re-enactments. With games, activities, shows and displays, visitors are invited to walk, dance, shop and drink while experiencing 16th century life. 

Drone Show: Harry Potter | July 17 | Drone show | Parc del Fòrum, Barcelona 

Friday is an opportunity to see more than 1,200 drones fly together in perfect synchronisation. With the original Harry Potter soundtrack and images from the franchise, experience an open-air multi-sensory display. The show is put on by DroneArt, with this specific experience dedicated to Harry Potter, they will help relive the world of magic beneath the stars. 

Overlook Fantastic Film Festival | July 16 - 19 | Cinema | Lluïsos d'Horta, Barcelona 

Four days of fantasy and horror for any film lover. The Overlook fills the weekend with screenings, talks, performances, communal supper and other surprises for fans. This year is the 6th edition of Overlook, the Festival of Fantastic Film, Comics and Toys from the 1970s and 1980s. The festival will follow a maritime theme, featuring sharks, killer whales, and monstrous creatures.

SOUNDIT Festival | July 17 - 18 | Concerts | Parc Nou, Barcelona 

The second edition of SOUNDIT Festival is kicking off this weekend. A two-day electronic music event that is bringing together over 55 artists on four stages. The four stages, Ellipse, Halo, ECO and Laberint, are each unique with different sonic environments for whatever mood. From a stripped stage focused on sound and movement, an intimate setting with immersive experiences, a traditional stage designed for dancing and an outdoor industrial-inspired environment, each stage provides a place for every person, every mood and every vibe. 

Eufònic | July 16 - 18 | Music Festival | Various locations, Amposta

Eufònic is a music festival dedicated to sound, visual and digital performative arts in southern Catalonia. The festival focuses on arts with audiovisual performances, artistic installations, temporarily adapted spaces, sound actions in the landscape, and workshops, among other activities. The landscape of Terres de l'Ebre allows Eufònic to become a sound and visual experience deeply rooted in the landscape. Amposta hosts the main musical and audiovisual performances, while other towns across the Terres de l'Ebre area will also host performances and installations. 

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 to 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 to August 5 | Concerts and cinema | Castell de Montjuïc, Barcelona  

Sala Monjuïc hosts their first screening of the summer this weekend with a showing of Flowers for Antonio. 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 to 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

Amaia | July 17 | Cap Roig Festival 

Wolfmother | July 17 | Razzmatazz

Rosario | July 17 | Jardines del Palacio de Pedralbes

Feid | July 18 | Palau Sant Jordi 

The Real McKenzies | July 21 | Sala Upload

Siamés | July 28 | Sala Upload

Las Robertas | July 31 | Sala Upload

Mika | August 8 | Cap Roig Festival

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.

Experience 'The Last Days of Pompeii' | From March 20 | 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 | 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.