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La Mercè 2026 unveils venues and takes the Piromusical to Bogatell
La Mercè 2026 will be held from Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 September, with a programme reaching all ten Barcelona districts for the first time. The main festival will unveil venues, move the Piromusical to Bogatell beach and have Shanghai as guest city.
The opening proclamation will be delivered by Antoni Falgueras, the person in charge of the historic Celler de Gelida de Sants, accompanied by his daughter, sommelier and communicator Meritxell Falgueras. Their selection puts the focus on family-run commerce and businesses that have preserved their own identity for generations.
The image for the festivities will be created by Barcelona artist Cinta Vidal. Her proposal depicts recognisable buildings and corners from impossible perspectives and will also become a permanent 33-square-metre mural at the Biblioteca Francesc Candel, in La Marina.
The map of activities will expand to include spaces such as Plaça de les Glòries, Plaça de Sarrià and Plaça Comas, in Les Corts. Glòries will host family activities and street arts, bringing part of the programme closer to neighbourhoods far from the traditional stages in the city centre and Montjuïc.
Park Güell will be another featured location, with a show mixing music, traditional dance and contemporary creation. The proposal will be linked to the Año Gaudí and will feature a notable participation by Barcelona’s esbarts.
Popular culture will also unveil a new Porta de l’Infern to open Saturday’s correfoc. Devils, fire beasts and percussion will revive one of the festival’s most crowded nights, with the final route still pending further details.
Shanghai will take part as guest city to coincide with the 25th anniversary of its twinning with Barcelona. More than a hundred artists will travel from the Chinese city to present stage productions and expressions of popular culture, including its well-known articulated dragons.
The finale will change its setting completely. Due to works on Montjuïc hill, the Piromusical will leave Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina and will be held for the first time on Bogatell beach, with the seafront turned into the main meeting point on the final night.
The complete music programme, schedules and many of the shows will still be announced later. The first picture of the edition nevertheless shows a less concentrated festival, with new routes between neighbourhoods, parks, squares and the coast.