La Mercè 2026 in Barcelona: Culture, Music and Nights by the Port

Festival Pirotécnico Internacional – La Mercè 2023 – Autor Jordi de Temple

Barcelona changes pace with the arrival of La Mercè 2026. From 23 to 27 September, the city will host nearly five hundred activities across squares, parks, theatres, streets and beaches, bringing together popular culture, music, street arts, dance and pyrotechnics.

For five days, Barcelona can be explored through very different venues and cultural expressions: from the giants and fire of traditional celebrations to BAM concerts, Música Mercè, the culture of Shanghai and a closing event by the Mediterranean.

This year’s edition invites you to see Barcelona from different perspectives, much like the poster created by Cinta Vidal. A city shaped by routes, encounters and viewpoints that connects the historic centre, its neighbourhoods and the coastline during the final days of summer.

Barcelona Unfolds During La Mercè

La Mercè’s programme will extend across all ten districts, adding new locations to its usual venues. Plaça de Les Glòries, Plaça de Sarrià and Plaça Comas will join a celebration designed to reach across Barcelona and offer different ways to experience it.

On Thursday the 24th, the central day of the Festa Major, Parc de Les Glòries will host family activities and street arts performances. This year’s programme will also include a music and dance show dedicated to the Gaudí Year and the centenary of Park Güell, with the participation of local folklore groups.

The official opening will take place on Wednesday the 23rd with the opening address by Antoni Falgueras, master wine merchant and the fourth generation to run Celler de Gelida. His speech at the Saló de Cent will connect the beginning of the festivities with Barcelona’s neighbourhoods, family businesses and wine culture.

Cinta Vidal’s Poster: A City to Explore

The poster for La Mercè 2026 is the work of Barcelona visual artist Cinta Vidal Agulló. The Cathedral, Plaça del Rei, the Basilica of La Mercè, Parc de la Ciutadella and the sea come together in a composition where buildings face different directions and the city is revealed through multiple perspectives.

Among its streets and buildings are people walking, dancing, playing and observing, as well as small hidden elements that invite you to look more closely. The same concept has been transformed into a 33-square-metre mural at the Biblioteca La Marina de Port-Francesc Candel, expanding this fragmented yet interconnected vision of Barcelona.

Traditions Return to the Streets

While the poster invites you to explore Barcelona with your eyes, popular culture physically takes over its streets once again. Giants and cabezudos, castellers, sardanas, grallers, cercaviles and figures from the festive bestiary will move through the city centre accompanied by music, dance and theatrical elements.

Fire will define some of the most intense moments. Passeig de Gràcia will once again host the correfoc and unveil a new Puerta del Infierno, from which devils, dragons and fire beasts will emerge among percussion, sparks and pyrotechnics.

Shanghai and Barcelona Share the Stage

Shanghai will be the guest city of La Mercè 2026, marking 25 years of its twinning relationship with Barcelona. For the first time, an Asian city will take on this role within the Festa Major.

More than one hundred artists from Shanghai and Barcelona’s Chinese community will take part in the programme. Tradition, contemporary creation, dance, circus, music and pyrotechnics will reveal different sides of a metropolis where innovation coexists with a centuries-old cultural heritage.

Dragons, Dance, Acrobatics and Fire

The Traditional Chinese Rolling Lantern Performance will take part in the Seguici Inaugural and Toc d’Inici with a dance associated with protection, community strength and good fortune. Chinese dragons will meet figures from Barcelona’s festive bestiary, creating an image that captures the cultural dialogue at the heart of this year’s edition.

The Shanghai Chinese Orchestra and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music will bring the traditional instruments and sounds of the guest city to Barcelona. The Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe will present its circus performances at Parc del Fòrum, while other dance companies will perform at Parc de la Trinitat and Parc de l’Estació del Nord.

The contemporary side of Shanghai will arrive with the Shanghai Restoration Project, combining electronic pop, jazz and dance alongside Angelo Manhenzane and Tebza Majaivanet. Shanghai will also participate in the International Fireworks Festival and present a drone show in the skies above Barcelona.

L’Àliga de la Ciutat de Barcelona – La Mercè 2025

Music Sets the Rhythm of the City

Concerts will offer another way to explore La Mercè, moving through different styles, neighbourhoods and venues. The musical programme will spread across central squares, gardens, theatres, former factories and spaces close to the Mediterranean.

BAM will retain its focus on discovery and experimentation, while Música Mercè will bring together popular artists, international sounds, tradition, flamenco, rumba, jazz, rock and symphonic music.

From BAM to the Major Música Mercè Stages

Barcelona Acció Musical will begin a new chapter in 2026 with a programme curated by Marta Mei and Aina Pociello. Its stages will welcome emerging projects, artists who have yet to perform in Barcelona and proposals that move away from the most predictable musical circuits.

Plaça de Catalunya will feature Bia Ferreira, Brama, Imarhan, Daoud, Sandra Monfort and Sandré. Moll de la Fusta will bring together names such as Islandman, Isla Kume, Juventude and Gala y Ovidio, while Rambla del Raval will welcome I Am Roze, Uzi Freya, Restinga and TootArd. The programme will continue at Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm and Fabra i Coats, home to the tenth edition of BAM Acció Cultura Viva.

Música Mercè will feature 34 concerts. Avinguda de la Catedral will host the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, Sabor de Gràcia, María Terremoto, Aterciopelados and Maika Makovski, as well as a show dedicated to La Barcelona Flamenca featuring guitarist Chicuelo. Luísa Sobral, Nacho Vegas, La Paloma and Def Mama Def will perform at Teatre Grec, while Plaça Major de Nou Barris will once again provide a setting for symphonic music.

Concerts by the Mediterranean

Bogatell Beach will once again become one of La Mercè’s major musical meeting points.

On Friday the 25th, the ELS40 stage will welcome Aina Machuca, Miki Núñez, Buhos and Sexenni. On Saturday the 26th, Estrella Damm’s Mediterranean stage will continue the programme with performances by La Pegatina, Svetlana and Al·lèrgiques al Pol·len.

Avinguda de Maria Cristina will also maintain its musical programme. On Friday, RAC105 will bring together Maria Jaume, Markos con K, Els Amics de les Arts, Els Catarres and Teràpia de Shock. On Saturday, Europa FM will take over with Ivan Herzog, Banda Neón, Paula Koops, Leire Martínez and a surprise artist.

The Piromusical Comes to Bogatell Beach

The closing event of La Mercè will move to a new location in 2026. Transformation works at the Fira Montjuïc site mean that the Piromusical will relocate from Avinguda de Maria Cristina to Bogatell Beach.

On Sunday the 27th, music and fireworks will bring the Festa Major to a close by the Mediterranean. The new location will bring the sky and sea into the spectacle and allow it to be viewed from different points along the coastline and across the city.

The move places Barcelona’s seafront at the heart of this year’s edition. After several days of exploring stages and neighbourhoods, La Mercè will end with Barcelona looking towards the sea.

La Mercè at Puerto Marina Vela

The cultural programme, concerts and new closing event at Bogatell make this an edition with a particularly strong connection to the Mediterranean. Along this route, Puerto Marina Vela offers a different pace: a pause by the port before continuing into the night.

Velissima brings the spirit of Italy to this part of Barcelona’s coastline. Its terrace, cuisine and atmosphere offer a way to complete a day at La Mercè around the table, away from the crowds of the major stages while remaining connected to the city’s celebrations.

An Italian Table Between the City and the Sea

After an afternoon of popular culture, street arts or concerts, dinner introduces a different moment into the day.

The cuisine at Velissima travels through Italy with pasta, fish and dishes designed for sharing. The terrace accompanies the final hours of daylight and invites you to linger over dinner while Barcelona prepares for the night.

The result is a plan that combines La Mercè’s cultural programme with a relaxed dinner, a drink and the Mediterranean atmosphere of the port.

The Night Continues at Velissima

As dinner comes to an end, the music changes the mood of the evening. La Famiglia Marinelli accompanies dinner with its performances before the DJ takes over and extends the night, especially at weekends.

During La Mercè, Velissima offers a different way to continue the celebration: from an Italian perspective, by the port and with a natural transition between gastronomy, music and nightlife.

Book Your Table During La Mercè 2026

From 23 to 27 September, Barcelona will host one of the most extensive cultural programmes of the year. Concerts, performances and activities across the city will bring particularly high levels of activity during the weekend evenings.

Discover Velissima’s menu and book your table at Puerto Marina Vela to enjoy La Mercè with Italian cuisine, music and a Mediterranean atmosphere.