Guide to 8M in Barcelona 2025: demonstrations, route and activities

The 8th of March, International Working Women’s Day, is a day of struggle against patriarchy, where women and gender dissidents demand rights and freedoms. That is why, as every year, different mobilizations are called throughout the day.

Here we tell you which will be the main demonstrations, their routes and how you can participate in them. In addition, both on Friday and the previous days there will be parallel activities with different themes, but always with feminism and the role of women as the main focus.

Assemblea 8M demonstration in Barcelona

Assemblea 8M has called a protest under the slogan “Les cures sostenen la vida” of women, lesbians and trans from 6 pm from Plaça Universitat to Arc de Triomf.

Demonstration at Plaça Sant Jaume

Plaça Catalunya will also be a meeting point this Friday March 8 with the call of Feministes de Catalunua, under the slogan “Som dones i diem prou”. It will be from 6 pm.

What does the manifesto of the City Council of the 8m of 2025 say?

This 8M will be read again a manifesto to express the commitment of the Barcelona City Council with the feminist struggle and to denounce all the inequalities and discriminations that women suffer in all areas and in a structural way just because they are women.

The reading of the manifesto will be on March 7 in Sant Jaume square, and will be accompanied by the deployment of a canvas with the image of the 8M campaign on the balcony of the City Hall, this year with the slogan “Let’s break the precariousness”.

Night demonstration

8M student strike in Barcelona

Students have advanced their strike by one day, so the strike and feminist student demonstration will be on March 7, starting at 12 noon. Their march will be the turn of female students with a route that will leave from Plaça de la Universitat under the slogan “S’ha acabat! Ens volem vives!”, which seeks to vindicate the fight against violence against women and vicarious violence, which has already caused 9 deaths this year. The march will go through the streets Pelai, Plaça de Catalunya, Fontanella street, Via Laietana and Plaça Sant Jaume, where the march will end.

Feminist strike on 8m: all details

The CGT has called again the feminist strike on March 8 for the International Women’s Day, calling to stop working to put at the center of public policies the usually unpaid care work that is done in the domestic or family.

Changes in public transport this 8M

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has communicated that the services could be modified depending on the follow up of the strike called for this 8M.

Although they have guaranteed a coverage of 85% of the metro and bus services in Barcelona, there may be some affectations and also diversions due to the planned rallies and marches.

Most demonstrations will take place between 17:00 and 20:30 hours. That is why the route of the following bus lines will be modified:

• Due to the march called in Plaça Universitat, lines H12, V13, V15, H16, V17, V19, D50, 19, 22, 24, 39, 47, 52, 54, 55, 59, 63, 67, 120 and the blue route of Barcelona Bus Turístic will be modified.
• From Plaça Catalunya, H16, V15, V17, 47, 55 and 59 will be affected.

Why is International Women’s Day celebrated on March 8?

Have you ever wondered why Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8? We explain all the key dates that brought about this day in this article.

Explanation of the feminist flag: why are lilac, the Venus symbol and the raised fist used?

The feminist flag is purple, with a Venus symbol and topped with a fist. But why are these colors and symbols used?

Purple is, historically, the color most associated with feminism. The most widespread theory about its origin dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, the time of the main struggles of European feminism. At that time, the British suffragettes of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) movement used the colors purple, white and green in their flags.

Purple signaled struggle and dignity, white purity and green hope. However, according to Amnesty International, purple could also come from a textile factory fire in the United States, where women made lilac-colored garments.

The Venus symbol and the fist

In the center of the most commonly seen flag is the Venus symbol, that circle with a cross underneath. Venus is the Roman goddess of love, who also symbolizes birth and fertility. Today, this symbol represents women and, together with the raised fist with which it is crowned, which was added in reference to the struggles for equality movements, constitutes the current look of the feminist flag.

Activities in Barcelona for 8m 2025

The 8m in the neighborhoods of Barcelona

In Barcelona the 8m has its demonstration and central acts, but the activities are spread throughout the neighborhoods of the city from several days before the 8M. Check on this page all the activities in the neighborhoods of the city.

8M Maria Aurèlia Capmany Award

The 39th edition of the March 8th Award – Maria Aurèlia Capmany, with the slogan “Let’s break the precariousness”, this year aims to support projects that fight against the precariousness of women in the city of Barcelona, to promote gender equality and improve their living conditions. The objectives of the award are to recognize initiatives and projects aimed at defending and promoting women’s rights, with a different theme each year, and also to offer economic resources and institutional support to facilitate the implementation of the winning proposals.

The March 8 Award establishes a single project category, which corresponds to a prize awarded by a jury of experts, endowed with 15,000 euros. The award ceremony will be held on March 10, at 5.30 p.m., in the Saló de Cent.

Feminist Conversations

“Feminist Conversations” reaches its second edition in 2025. A conference designed with and for women, entities and organizations of the city, and designed to find answers to the main challenges that stand in the way. A project that aims to become a participatory mechanism for dialogue and debate to innovate and nurture policies in strategic areas to achieve real and effective equality.

This second edition was launched in January with six working groups, and will end with the celebration of a conference on April 4 and 5 at the Born Cultural Center.

Feminist March in the libraries of Barcelona

Conferences, workshops, talks, music… The libraries of Barcelona join the 8m by launching a special program on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Among the outstanding activities, the start of two thematic cycles, events with the writer Mariana Enriquez, musical performances with Júlia Colom and Anaïs Vila (Ellas cantan, ellas hablan), technological workshops, reading clubs, children’s activities, lectures, workshops for adults, new reading guide…

You can consult the complete agenda of activities in the libraries in this link.

Libraries are named after women

As happens with the nomenclature of the streets, most of the libraries in Barcelona are named after men and, when not, they have a generic name of the neighborhood in which they are located. With the aim of feminizing this gazetteer from Libraries of Barcelona has wanted to promote the assignment of proper names of women born in Barcelona or with a strong link to the city.

The new names are: The poet and novelist Ana María Moix, the writer and journalist Rosa M. Arquimbau, the writer Carmen Laforet, the writer and librarian Aurora Díaz Plaja, the social activist M. Àngels Rivas and the journalist Mària Sánchez, are the next female figures to give names to six libraries.

With them, there are now 13 libraries in Barcelona named after women:

• Ciutat Vella: Francesca Bonnemaison Library.
• Eixample: Library Fort Pienc – Ana María Moix, Library Sofia Barat
• Les Corts: Montserrat Abelló Library
• Gràcia: Vallcarca i els Penitents Library – M. Antonieta Cot, Vila de Gràcia Library – Rosa M. Arquimbau
• Horta – Guinardó: Guinardó Library – Mercè Rodoreda
• Nou Barris: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta Library – Carmen Laforet, Nou Barris Library – Aurora Díaz Plaja, Canyelles Library – M. Àngels Rivas, Zona Nord Library – Mària Sánchez
• Sant Andreu: La Sagrera Library – Marina Clotet
• Sant Martí: Camp de l’Arpa Library – Caterina Albert