La Mercè festivities 2023

La Mercè is the quintessential popular festival in the city of Barcelona, honoring its patron saint and with a program full of activities of all kinds and for all audiences, with music, circus dance and street arts and where there is no shortage of giants, dragons and beasts of fire, castellers and sardanista songs.

This year, the official poster comes from the hand of the artist Chamo San , an illustrator and cartoonist from Barcelona.

And, the proclamation comes from the hand of the writer Najat El Hachmi and will take place on Friday, September 22 at 7:00 p.m. in the Saló de Cent de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona .

As every year, there is an invited and honored city, which this year is the capital of Ukraine. Olga and Volodimir, princes in Kyiv, will be the giants that will walk through Barcelona.

Events designed for everyone:

The La Mercè music festival is, more than ever, a reflection of the diversity and cultural vitality of Barcelona; of the different accents and rhythms that cross it and of its artistic concern, attentive to new voices and trends, without renouncing the identity of the city. All the information here

Seventh edition of Acció Cultura Viva, a collectively organized festival focused on projects rooted in the city and which will be enjoyed on three stages in Sant Andreu.

More information here .

This 2023 the BAM Festival returns, from September 22 to 25, on the occasion of the La Mercè Festival, to be, one more edition, the showcase for emerging music from the Catalan, national and international music scene in four stages in Barcelona: the Moll de la Fusta, the Rambla del Raval, the Plaza Reial and the Old Estrella Damm Factory.

All the information here

The Pyromusical de la Mercè 2023 in Barcelona will once again close the festival: it will take place on Monday, September 25, on Avenida Reina María Cristina at 10:00 p.m.

.

In addition to the concerts and artistic manifestations that take over the squares and streets, free of charge and for all audiences, the Festa del Foc is also very prominent. This event consists of the popular correfocs, which take place in Vía Laietana and its surroundings. There are two a day, one quieter so that the little ones in the house can participate, and another at dusk designed more for adults.

Another long-awaited event that closes the festivities on September 24 is the Cavalcada de la Mercè (Cabalgata de la Mercè) with dances by giants and big heads, which gather thousands of onlookers along the main streets of the city.

On the other hand, museums and historic buildings such as the Pedralbes Monastery, the Picasso Museum, the Blau Museum, or the Palace of the Generalitat, among others, open their doors so that during the Mercè Festival you can enjoy their ins and outs for free.

“The most traditional activities of La Mercè are, in reality, a compendium of popular culture from all of Catalonia. In them appear the sardana from Girona, the castells and the devils of the Camp de Tarragona, the dances that are still alive today throughout the Catalan geography... The great Barcelona specialty are the parades, related to the colorful processions that were celebrated centuries ago with reason for the Corpus These are the oldest street shows that we have. Today, like yesterday, the organization of the street parades has popular culture groups that work side by side with street artists. Their joint work serves to maintain the festive and theatrical vocation with which these shows were born.” (Source barcelona.cat )