Barcelona rings in 2024 with fireworks and drone show
120,000 people attend New Year’s celebration at Avinguda de Maria Cristina
celebration
UNESCO-recognized La Patum celebrations begin with a bang after Covid hiatus
First day of festivity features parade of dancing giants, demons and dragons with fire coming out of their mouths
Uncertainty ahead of July 23 summer Sant Jordi
Some book and rose stands expected on alternative date set due to Covid lockdown in April
Major seaside towns to shut beaches for Sant Joan to avoid crowds
Barcelona, Badalona, Tarragona, Sitges, Mataró, or Castelldefels ban June 23 festivities by the sea
What will this year’s ‘different’ Sant Joan celebrations look like?
Barcelona beaches will be closed, fireworks will be allowed but groups will have to be of maximum 20 people
‘Patum’: the beat of a local festival with international status
‘Patum’ is a popular festival celebrated every year during Corpus Christi in the Catalan city of Berga. In this town, the earliest reference to this festival dates from 1454 although the celebration has its origins in pre-Christian festivities. During five days, the streets of Berga are transformed into a massive stage. The ‘Patum’ festival, which was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005, comprises several parts and is a mixture of sound, fire and parades of allegorical and traditional figures such as ‘Guites’ (mule dragons), the Eagle and giant-headed dwarves. All the figures join to perform the final dance, the Tirabol. This years’ ‘Patum’ will take place from the 25th to the 28th of May.
Sant Jordi to be celebrated in nearly 150 cities worldwide
People all over the world celebrate one of Catalonia’s most beloved festivals, Sant Jordi’s Day, in different ways. This year, over 40 countries have planned well over 100 activities throughout the week of the 23rd of April through the first days of May. Through a collaboration between the University Network of Catalan studies abroad as well as the Ramon Llull Institute and the Catalan Government, activities celebrating love, literature, and Catalan culture have been scheduled across Europe as well as North and South America. This year, activities including everything from Instagram contests to a project encouraging students across continents to update and extend Wikipedia articles on the Catalan philosopher and writer Ramon Llull, to whom Catalonia dedicates all the cultural activities this 2016, have been scheduled.