Barcelona's 'Biennial of Thought' to 'fill city with debate and reflection' from October 11 to 16

The Catalan capital's 'Biennial of Thought', an ambitious weeklong series of over 60 activities, will be back to "fill the city with debate and reflection" for its third edition from October 11 to 16.

Around 200 international and local figures, from Belarussian journalist and Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Aleksiévtich, to Israeli historian and 'Sapiens' author Yuval Noah Harari, or Catalan film director Carla Simón, will take part in debates across the city.

This year's festival will focus on three main themes: socio-political systems, technological change, and the physical configuration of cities, with subtopics including post-colonialism, climate change, or cryptocurrency, among many others.

This will be the first time since Covid that all activities are in-person, with debates encouraging citizen participation. There will also, for the first time ever, be simultaneous editions in Valencia and Palma de Mallorca. While these will be interrelated, they will have their own program. 

The full program for the Barcelona edition can be found on the council website. Activities, except for the so-called peripatetic walks, will be held in nine venues across the city, including the CCCB museum, La Model prison, or Plaça del Diamant square in Gràcia. 

A free festival

All activities are free. None of them require prior booking except for the guided peripatetic walks, which have a limited number of participants.

Some venues have limited capacities, meaning people will be allowed in on a first-come-first-served basis.