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ERC calls for Poblenou 24-hour supermarkets to close for five nights during the festival
Twenty-four-hour supermarkets have entered the debate ahead of the Festa Major del Poblenou. ERC has formally asked the Sant Martí district to require these establishments to close from 22:00 to 7:00 on the nights with the most festive activity, although the City Council does not currently plan to apply this additional restriction at the 2026 edition.
The proposal was registered on Monday 31 August and affects Fridays, Saturdays and public-holiday eves between 10 and 20 September, the official dates of the Festa Major. Applied to this year's calendar, it would mean pulling down the shutters for five nights: 10, 11, 12, 18 and 19 September.
ERC argues that keeping these shops open during the early hours makes it easier for street gatherings to continue after concerts, dinners and activities have ended. The party proposes the closure as a preventive measure to reduce noise, drinking alcohol in public spaces and disturbance to residents.
The request comes in a neighbourhood where supermarkets with extended opening hours have grown rapidly. According to municipal data obtained by ERC, 65 establishments of this type opened in Poblenou between October 2020 and December 2025. Across Sant Martí, the figure was 104 during the same period.
The City Council, however, does not initially intend to adopt the closure requested for this Festa Major. Municipal sources have said that during the festivities the district will strengthen monitoring to check that establishments comply with their opening hours and current regulations, including the ban on selling alcohol between 22:00 and 8:00.
If the course of the festivities reveals new problems, the council will consider additional measures such as the one proposed by ERC for future editions. Therefore, residents should not interpret the proposal as an already approved closure: outside areas subject to specific restrictions, supermarkets that are legally allowed to open during the early hours may continue to do so.
There is a precedent very nearby. Food shops located within the so-called Triangle Lúdic del Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou have for years been subject to specific night-time restrictions because of noise and coexistence problems. Barcelona has also tried similar restrictions in the vicinity of Carrer de Tuset, where it required certain bakeries and 24-hour establishments to close on the nights with the greatest leisure activity.
The discussion is also taking place while Barcelona attempts to contain the expansion of this retail model. The city counts around 1,300 self-service shops and supermarkets able to operate 24 hours a day and, since May, has kept the granting of new licences suspended for one year while it prepares specific regulations.
The Festa Major del Poblenou will begin on Thursday 10 and end on Sunday 20 September, with concerts, street dinners, popular culture, workshops and activities spread across different parts of the neighbourhood. For this edition, the extraordinary rule requested by ERC will not yet be in force unless the municipal government changes its position before the festivities begin.