Barcelona will dress up again to host the Goya Awards 2026, no less than 25 years after the last time.
The great night of Spanish cinema will be held on February 28, 2026 at the Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB), as announced Friday by the president of the Film Academy, Fernando Méndez-Leite, the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar, and Mayor Jaume Collboni at a ceremony at the Palau de la Generalitat.
The 40th Goya Awards Gala
The return is no coincidence: it will be the 40th edition of the Goya Awards, coinciding with the anniversary of the Academy. Méndez-Leite defined it as “much more than a gesture, a deep gratitude to a city that breathes cinema”. Although he did not reveal too many details about the format of the gala, he did say that the ceremony will be “agile and fun”, with a maximum of one minute per speech of gratitude for the winners.
The gala will not come alone: the city will experience two major film celebrations in just two weeks, as the Gaudí Awards will also be presented. Collboni joked that the classic “big head” of the Goya Awards will become for a few days a “capgròs” Barcelona, and advanced special actions such as the installation of seven giant Goyas in the streets or public screenings of the nominated films.
The event will also serve to vindicate the sweet moment of Catalan cinema, with recent titles such as Romería, Sirat or Sorda among the candidates to represent Spain at the Oscars. The last time the Goya Awards were held in Barcelona was in 2000, at L’Auditori, when Pedro Almodóvar’s All About My Mother was crowned Best Film.
