Complete Guide to the 2026 La Mercè Festival in Barcelona: program, schedules, concerts, shows, Piromusical…

On Wednesday, September 23, La Mercè officially kicks off with the Pregó, and from there, the program continues nonstop until Sunday, September 27, when the Piromusical brings the festivities to a close. Five days of nonstop activities and celebrations for everyone.

The La Mercè poster is—and has always been—a tool used by the city government to reflect its identity and make a statement of intent. This is usually synonymous with controversy and debate, but this year has been an exception, and the response has been very positive from the majority of the population.

The design, created by painter Cinta Vidal, can be picked up at various locations throughout the city and has also been transformed into a large-scale mural inside the Francesc Candel Library.

You can also visit the free exhibition at the Museu Marès, which features all the posters from 1979 to the present and tells the story of Barcelona and its city festival through these works.

The spark that will ignite the festivities will have the flavor of grapes and earth. On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 23, master winemaker Antoni Falgueras will deliver the opening address. He won’t be alone at the microphone; he’ll be joined by his daughter, sommelier Meritxell Falgueras. Following this kickoff, Barcelona’s nightlife will host the first musical performances of the festa major.

China is all the rage for many reasons: technology, cultural traditions, cuisine, entertainment… and Shanghai is probably the city most similar to Barcelona within the Asian giant. More than enough reasons for Shanghai to be La Mercè’s guest city in 2026.

Music, performing arts, parades, and light and fireworks shows. This year’s La Mercè will have an oriental flair thanks to the dozens of cultural events organized in collaboration with “the magical city.”

Among the activities featuring Shanghai as a participant or highlight, we’d like to highlight the Traditional Chinese Rolling Lantern Performance, a traditional folk dance show featuring lanterns, folk figures (such as mythological beasts and dragons), traditional Chinese elements, and music by the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. This parade will take place during the opening procession on Wednesday, September 23.

Another must-see event is the drone and light show *El hilo rojo: From Barcelona to Shanghai*, an aerial choreography featuring 750 drones that will light up the sky over Espigó del Gas Beach on Thursday, September 24, at 10:00 p.m.

A festival without music isn’t a festival—and that’s especially true for La Mercè. Barcelona’s biggest celebrations aren’t complete without the lyrics of our favorite bands playing in the background, or that delightful feeling of discovering a new artist who’ll become a staple on our playlist.

This year, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to experience that excitement all over again, because from September 23 to 27, more than 100 free concerts will be held, the result of a joint program by Música Mercè and BAM (Barcelona Acció Musical).

Local and international artists from more than 20 countries will take the stage at 14 open-air venues scattered throughout the city, ranging from the Teatre Grec to Bogatell Beach.

One of the major attractions of La Mercè is the city’s transformation into an open-air theater. The Mercè Arts de Carrer program, curated by figures such as Jordi Duran and Tortell Poltrona, will fill seven iconic venues. As a major new addition,the t the Parc de les Glòries Catalanes will make its debut as an official venue for the series of performances.

In addition, the Plaza de la Naturaleza at Park Güell will bring together more than 50 live performers to present *Decostumari*, a show featuring reinterpreted traditional music and dance conceived as a tribute to Antoni Gaudí in the year dedicated to his legacy.

Festivities, fun, and reading go hand in hand, and La Mercè proves it once again this year by coinciding with Setmana del Llibre en Català. The Catalan literature fair will be held from September 18 to 27 on Passeig de Lluís Companys.

More than 350 activities, 98 bookstore booths, and 282 publishing houses will participate in the festival by showcasing their books and organizing activities such as book presentations, author signings, children’s workshops, concerts, recitals, award ceremonies, and literary tours throughout Barcelona and other municipalities.

The Filmoteca de Catalunya is participating in the official La Mercè program with special free-admission screenings and open house events.

On Wednesday, September 23, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and on Thursday, September 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., you can visit the Raval building and enjoy the major exhibition *Feminismes Fílmics: 1976–2026* and the rest of its offerings.

If La Mercè is a celebration of Barcelona’s small-town festive spirit, few things are more quintessentially small-town than keeping your front door open to anyone who wants to walk through it.

As every year, about fifty municipal buildings and museums will open their doors for free, and others will offer special promotions—especially if your name is Mercè.

Barcelona’s city festival continues to serve as a platform for promoting culture, and many of the country’s most important cultural centers are joining this initiative. Perhaps the most iconic is the Sagrada Familia, which is giving away 20,000 tickets forfree admission.

Let’s remember: La Mercè is that festival that a 21st-century city dedicates to a saint from the Middle Ages. Barcelona’s main festival is also a celebration of Barcelona’s and Catalonia’s popular culture.

From the gegants and capgrossos to the Correfocs, the Dracs, the Bèsties , and the Sardanes, during La Mercè, secular and popular culture takes to the streets with a program that includes centuries-old traditions, such as the opening procession of the giants preceding the mayor’s opening address, which officially kicks off the festival. These time-honored traditions remind us that Barcelona is a city steeped in history.

But as history moves forward and evolves, traditions must do the same—which is why, starting in 2022, the city will parade its first inclusive giant, designed so that people with disabilities can also join in the festivities.

This year, the La Mercè correfoc will also debut a new Porta de l’Infern with a design that’s sure to make an impression: a structure formed by some 1,000 dismembered human figures, measuring approximately 7 meters high and 14 meters wide.

You’ve surely heard the legend that it rains during La Mercè because the city’s other saint, Eulàlia, cries because she isn’t the favorite of the people of Barcelona.

But do you know why this is the case? Did you know that Eulàlia was the city’s first patron saint and that La Mercè later replaced her? These festivities are the perfect time to learn more about our patron saints, our festival, and, in general, the city’s history. So go ahead —read on and become a city expert.

As every year, La Mercè 2026 will close with the iconic Piromusical, which is moving to Nova Icària Beach for the first time. This year it will take place on Sunday, September 27, at 10:00 p.m., and we already know who the headliner will be: Josep Montero, lead singer of Oques Grasses.

The leader of the iconic Catalan band is keeping the songs that will be danced to the beat of the fireworks a secret, but he has revealed that it will be “an eclectic program, open to diverse styles and sensibilities, with a prominent presence of music in Catalan.”

Montero replaces the Estopa brothers , who were in charge of curating the musical repertoire in 2025, and the most internationally renowned Catalan artist: Rosalía, who served as the musical director of the 2024 Piromusical.

La Mercè 2026 returns with one of the most anticipated spectacles: the drone show that will light up the Barcelona sky under the title *El hilo rojo: de Barcelona a Shanghái*(The Red Thread: From Barcelona to Shanghai). This will be the fourth edition of this production created by Flock Drone Art, which has already become a must-see part of the city’s annual festival.

During the event, 750 drones will fly over the city’s coastline in a choreographed display of lights and music that will blend traditional and modern icons to represent the 25-year sister city relationship between Barcelona and Shanghai. The event will take place on Thursday, September 24, at the Espigó del Gas, with two showtimes: at 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

It’s never too late to improve festivals and traditions—especially if that improvement means an excuse to enjoy a delicious treat. In 2022, in the midst of a “battle” to create a dessert that would represent Barcelona’s city festival, the Gremi de Pastissers created a seasonal fruit cake to be sold in neighborhood bakeries.

The Pastís de la Mercè: a classic shortcrust tartlet filled with almond cream and honey cream, and topped with fresh figs cut into wedges and slivered almonds. A combination as delicious as it is eye-catching—you have to try it at least once in your life.

Once again, the Terra i Gust fair will be the gastronomic highlight of La Mercè, bringing together 14 restaurants that will offer tapas for 6 euros while promoting responsible, locally sourced cuisine.

We all know, more or less, how to define Catalan, Andalusian, or Chinese cuisine, but… what about Barcelona’s?

We’re taking advantage of the La Mercè festivities to take a stroll through the city in search of authentic Barcelona cuisine—the kind with a Barcelona designation of origin—to pay the tribute this city festival deserves with our stomachs.