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ACUSTICAT 2026 brings together 400 experts in Barcelona to address the impact of noise on health
Noise has become one of the major challenges of urban life in Barcelona. This week, more than 400 professionals are gathering at ACUSTICAT 2026 to analyse how sound affects rest, health, and coexistence in the city.
The congress is held at the Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona and coincides with the International Noise Awareness Day. Over two days, experts, researchers and public officials address a problem that is increasingly felt in everyday life.
One of the central debates concerns concerts and large-scale events. The rise of festivals in urban settings raises a complex balance between cultural activity and the right to rest. Lawyers and managers analyse how far current regulations go and what changes may come in the coming years.
Health occupies a key place in the programme. Specialists warn that noise pollution is one of the main environmental risks in Europe, with direct effects on sleep, the cardiovascular system and quality of life. Noise stops being merely a nuisance and becomes a public-health problem.
The congress also connects sound with other urban challenges, such as air quality and climate change. Planning green areas and quiet spaces emerges as an essential tool for creating acoustic refuges within the city.
At the same time, technological solutions for measuring and reducing noise are presented, from sensors to new materials for buildings and transport. The cultural value of the soundscape is also asserted, through experiences that invite people to rediscover the city through listening.
According to European data, at least 20% of the population is exposed to harmful noise levels. In Barcelona, where urban activity never stops, this debate has a direct impact on daily life.
ACUSTICAT 2026 is thus consolidating itself as a key meeting point for thinking about how the cities of the future should sound: more alive, but also more liveable.