Barcelona once again forgoes the nativity scene in Sant Jaume: the nativity grows, but stays indoors

For the second consecutive year, the City Council has decided to move the nativity scene inside the municipal building, a formula it already applied last year and which is now becoming established.

The Culture Councillor, Xavier Marcé, confirmed it during the Social Rights, Culture and Sports committee: the 2025 nativity scene will be larger and in a classical style, a proposal “to recover the Christmas essence without controversy”. The installation can be visited throughout December and during the first week of January 2026 in the City Council's inner courtyard, where last year it already became one of the most photographed spaces of the festive season.

The Partido Popular had called for the nativity scene to return to the square, appealing to its cultural and artistic value. However, Marcé argued that the absence of an outdoor nativity scene “does not break any tradition” and that the square will be integrated into Barcelona's Christmas lighting design, although he did not reveal what element will occupy the central space. In 2024, it was a large illuminated star costing 145,000 euros, part of a Christmas campaign that exceeded 550,000 euros in municipal spending.

The Christmas lights will be switched on on 22 November at 18:30 on Passeig de Gràcia, bringing the start of the festive season forward by a few days because of Mayor Jaume Collboni's international schedule. The lights will remain on until 6 January 2026, from 17:30 to 1:00, and until 2:00 at weekends and on special public holidays.