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Rovira i Trias provides the surprise and wins Gràcia 2026's decorated spaces
Plaça Rovira i Trias has provided the great surprise of Festa Major de Gràcia 2026. Its Batiscaforoviruskas decoration, inspired by the album Batiscafo Katiuskas by Antònia Font, has won first prize in the decorated spaces competition and also secured the first victory for this committee in the competition's history.
The installation has turned the square into an underwater universe of fish, waves and elements linked to the imagery of the Mallorcan group. The proposal also served to celebrate the 20 consecutive years in which Rovira i Trias has taken part in decorating this corner of Gràcia.
The jury awarded it 435 points, a wide lead over the runner-up. Carrer de Mozart came second with 394 points thanks to L’hivernacle encantat, a recreation inspired by the Ciutadella’s umbraculum when it operated as a ballroom.
Third place went to Carrer de la Llibertat, with 377 points and a decoration dedicated to Argonath, Aranyerra and Mórdor. It was one of the five streets that this year had coordinated their installations to jointly create a route inspired by The Lord of the Rings.
The tie was particularly close just behind the podium. Plaça de la Vila finished fourth with 376 points, only one fewer than Llibertat, while Carrer de la Perla came fifth with 363. Progrés, another of the streets included in the Middle-earth route, took sixth place.
Rovira i Trias’s victory has a special element because it breaks with the usual favourites and rewards a format different from the large decorative tunnels many streets can build. The committee worked with the square’s own open geometry to create an installation able to envelop the visitor from different points.
The competition also awarded specific prizes. Plaça del Nord was recognised for reuse and recycling, Tordera for lighting, Fraternitat de Baix for artistic detail, Verdi for the ceiling and sides, Progrés for its entrance and central motif, and Placeta de Sant Miquel for innovation and technology.
The result leaves a new must-see stop for those still going around Gràcia before the festivities end this Friday 21. Among this year’s 23 decorated spaces, the jury singled out one above the rest: a square turned into a bathyscaphe which, after two decades of being decorated, finally takes first prize.