la merce

Concerts at the Barcelona festival saw attendance of 346,150 people

From fire running 'correfocs' to afrobeat, this year's Barcelona-wide festival has something for everyone

From September 21 to 24, the Catalan capital celebrates La Mercè 2018, with free performances on 40 stages across the city  

Workers denounce "repeated violations" by heads of Barcelona transport operator (TMB)

With the celebration for the Sants neighborhood, the Catalan capital gears up for its own celebration, La Mercé

Catalan capital’s La Mercè festival ends after tens of thousands turn out all over the city to see concerts, processions and human towers

Icelandic capital to be guest of honor at capital’s annual festival, with the 2017 poster created by Valencian illustrator Xavier Mariscal

Great success at this year’s edition of La Mercè Festival Barcelona. The festival was closed on Sunday with a Pyromusical performance in which fireworks, light and music were synchronised. Around 90,000 people gathered to see the show, which honoured Paris, the guest city of the 2016 celebration, and David Bowie and Prince, who passed away in January and April, respectively. The festival had a French and international accent and included performances of French artists like the street and circus art cooperative 2r2 and the prestigious theatre group Company Théâtre Silvia Monfort. However, during the celebration there were also several Catalan traditional activities such as human towers.

Paris, the city of light, is the guest at this year’s edition of ‘La Mercè’, the festival of Barcelona’s patron saint. From the 22nd to the 25th of September many French artists will perform at Ciutadella Park. “Our desire is to keep the spirit of an open and cosmopolitan city in contact with other capitals, in this case, Paris", said Jaume Collboni, Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor for Culture. Popular activities such as ‘cercaviles’, parades which include all the folklore symbols of the city, and ‘castellers’, traditional Catalan human towers, will also be part of the programme. The festival will finish with the traditional ‘Pyromusical’, a performance where music and fireworks are synchronised.

The Wine and Cava Fair celebrates its 35^th year at the feast of ‘La Mercè’, in Barcelona. From the 19^th to the 24^th of September, 81 wineries from all 12 of Catalonia’s wine and Cava regions will be represented. The fair is a way of demonstrating that Catalonia produces top-quality wines which successfully compete with other regions. It is also an interesting way of introducing new enthusiasts to wine culture. Wine and Cava will be sold by all the wineries at the fair, and there is a large area reserved for wine tasting. There is also the opportunity to sample other typical Catalan products, including a selection of the best local sausages and cheeses.

From the 18^th to the 24^th of September, Barcelona celebrates ‘Mercè’, its patron saint. More than 500 activities will be held all over the city, from ‘castells’, traditional Catalan human towers, through international music festivals, to folklore parades and fireworks. Some of the most iconic buildings in the city will be open to the public. ‘Barcelona Acció Musical’, the music festival that takes place during ‘La Mercè’, has scheduled more than 90 concerts throughout the week. This year there will be more international artists than ever before. More than 20 artists from all over the world will perform. Different audio-visual ‘mappings’, will be projected onto the facades of several of Barcelona’s iconic buildings and the festival will close with a performance that synchronises music with fireworks known as ‘Piromusical’.