Christmas lights in Barcelona brighten up new streets and squares

Barcelona’s Christmas lights were officially switched on on Thursday, November 26, giving the Catalan capital the special festive feel once more. 

This year, the city council are adding extra resources to the Christmas lights budget, which is over €1,700,000, paying for lights stretching over 100km throughout the city. 

Various locations such as Plaça Catalunya and the municipal markets across Barcelona are being lit up for the first time ever, as part of the expanded Christmas lights celebrations. 

Mayor Ada Colau wants to promote local shopping this present-buying season, given the fact that local businesses have suffered so much this year due to the pandemic. To achieve this, the council wants to make the city feel extra welcoming for shoppers.

The head of Barcelona’s local government also rallied against e-commerce behemoth Amazon last week, urging citizens to buy from local stores instead of the multinational corporations that contribute little to the local economy and that "does not pay local taxes or bring wealth." 

The dance group led by Sol Picó gave a performance in front of the old Born market to inaugurate this year’s festive period. 

The nightly curfew that’s in place will also impact the lights, as they’ll be switched off at 10 pm every evening. off at 10. They'll be switched off for another year on January 7.

The Christmas lights of Girona and Tarragona will be lit on Friday, November 27, while Lleida’s will be lit next week.