La Mercè 2026: complete guide from September 23 to 27 in Barcelona.

La Mercè 2026 takes place from Wednesday, September 23 to Sunday, September 27, and this year Barcelona's main festival is moving locations: the Piromusical leaves Avenida Maria Cristina for the first time and moves to Nova Icària beach. It's five days, 109 free concerts, 180 street performances, and ten districts with programming. Thursday, September 24, La Mercè Day, is a local holiday in the city.

Here at Planns, we've spent the whole week uploading the program act by act. What follows is the short version: what's changing, what you can't miss, what works with kids, and how to get around so you don't end up gazing at the sky from the back of a metro queue.

Four things that change this year

The Piromusical is heading to the beach. Construction at Fira de Montjuïc has left the festival finale without a home, moving it to Nova Icària beach on Sunday, September 27 at 10:00 PM. The fireworks are launched from the Bogatell breakwater, so they can be seen from Nova Icària and a good stretch of Bogatell beach. The musical selection is crafted by Josep Montero, frontman of Oques Grasses; the pyrotechnics by Pirotècnia Igual.

Shanghai is the first Asian guest city in the history of La Mercè. It arrives with around 110 artists, articulated dragons, a traditional orchestra, and a rolling lantern show that sneaks into the Toc d'inici and the Cavalcada.

Premiere of the Porta de l'Infern. The correfoc kicks off with a new gate, the work of Daniel Esteban: nearly a thousand fragmented bodies in polyester resin, the largest structure La Mercè's correfoc has ever seen.

Parc de les Glòries joins the circuit. The Glòries node debuts as an official venue for Mercè Arts de Carrer on Thursday, September 24, featuring circus and installations from 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM.

The kickoff: Wednesday, September 23

The opening speech is delivered by a father-daughter duo: Toni Falgueras, master vintner at Celler de Gelida in Sants, and his daughter Meritxell Falgueras, sommelier. At 7:00 PM in the Saló de Cent of City Hall. It's a tribute to neighborhood commerce, and probably the least controversial opening speech in recent years.

Half an hour earlier, the seguici popular leaves Palau de la Virreina (La Rambla, 99) and heads down La Rambla and Carrer Ferran to Sant Jaume. At 8:00 PM, the Toc d'inici takes place in Plaça de Sant Jaume, featuring the Ministrils del Camí Ral —forty musicians— and Shanghai's lanterns. The ritual has repeated identically since 1993.

At 10:00 PM, the Xambanga de Gegants sets out from Sant Jaume with the district giants and returns the way it came. If you can only catch one thing on opening day, let it be this: giants at night, with a packed square, take on a whole different scale.

Meanwhile, the music is already underway. The inaugural sardanes with Cobla Sant Jordi play at 7:00 PM on Avinguda de la Catedral, and in Plaça de Catalunya the Sona9 final splits the stage among four names almost nobody knows yet.

La Mercè, day by day

If you want the complete list, Planns has the entire Mercè schedule act by act.

The five events that define the festival

Castells: two diadas, not one

La diada castellera de la Mercè happens on Thursday, September 24 at 1:00 PM in Plaça de Sant Jaume, featuring Barcelona's eight colles: Castellers de Barcelona, Sants, Vila de Gràcia, Poble Sec, Sagrada Família, Sarrià, Esquerdats de l'Eixample, and Colla Jove.

The big one, however, is Sunday's. The Diada Històrica Castellera on September 27 at 12:00 PM brings Minyons de Terrassa and Joves Xiquets de Valls to the square. Two of the country's best colles, right in the center of Barcelona, for free. Earlier, at 11:30 AM, the cercavila castellera departs from La Virreina.

→ Arrive 40 minutes early and stay on the City Hall side: the square fills up fast, and from the other end you'll only see backs.

Correfoc: Passeig de Gràcia goes up in flames on Saturday

Two correfocs, same route, different intensity. The correfoc dels petits starts at 6:00 PM; the correfoc de la Mercè, featuring the Ceptrotada and the premiere of Porta de l'Infern, starts at 8:30 PM. Both head down Passeig de Gràcia from Provença to Consell de Cent. At 4:45 PM, La Tabalada warms up the route with drums.

→ Cotton, long sleeves, long pants, zero synthetic fibers. Hat, covered eyes, and earplugs if you're jumping in. No glass and no kids in the front row.

Drones and pyrotechnics: three nights of sky

On Thursday the 24th, there are two passes of the drone show at 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM at Espigó del Gas. Titled El fil vermell. De Barcelona a Shanghai, it's created by Flock Drone Art and features 750 drones telling the legend of the red string of fate. Fourth edition, and it's already a fixture.

On Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th at 10:00 PM at the same breakwater, the International Pyrotechnic Festival marks its 27th edition. Saturday's slot is fired by China.

Cavalcada: giants, dragons, and Chinese lanterns

The Cavalcada de la Mercè leaves Plaça de Catalunya at 5:30 PM on Thursday and reaches Sant Jaume around 7:00 PM, with Shanghai's rolling lanterns marching in the entourage. Earlier, at 12:00 PM, the Seguici de la Mercè parades through the Gothic Quarter with church bells ringing from the basilica, and at 12:45 PM the Àliga and the Gegants de la Ciutat perform their solemn dances.

On Sunday at 8:30 PM, the Toc a plegar returns the giants to La Virreina with the Contradansa. It's the real finale of the festival, an hour and a half before the fireworks.

La Fura dels Baus at Moll de la Fusta

On Thursday the 24th at 10:00 PM, La Fura dels Baus premieres Emergency Exit at Moll de la Fusta, alongside Eyesberg Studio and Satori. Homegrown company, large-scale format, and free admission.

Free concerts: 109 and fourteen stages

Joint programming by Música Mercè and BAM spreads concerts across Teatre Grec, Plaça de Catalunya, Moll de la Fusta, Rambla del Raval, Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm, Fabra i Coats, Plaça Major de Nou Barris, Avinguda de la Catedral, Jardins del Doctor Pla i Armengol, Parc de la Ciutadella, Avinguda Reina Maria Cristina, and Platja del Bogatell. All free.

Friday 25 · Platja del Bogatell

Friday 25 · Av. Reina Maria Cristina

Saturday 26 · Platja del Bogatell

The lineup worth crossing town for is elsewhere. On Friday the 25th at 9:30 PM, Nacho Vegas plays Teatre Grec with La Paloma following at 11:30 PM, and Grec has limited capacity: it's the one Mercè event where you genuinely need to arrive early. On Avinguda de la Catedral, Saturday the 26th at 10:00 PM, you'll find Aterciopelados, followed at midnight by Maika Makovski. And in Nou Barris, Plaça Major hosts big orchestral music: the Orquestra i Cor del Gran Teatre del Liceu on Thursday the 24th at 8:45 PM, the OBC on Friday the 25th at the same time, and on Sunday the 27th, the Vozes Symphony Orchestra with Marco Mezquida.

La Mercè with kids

The festival works great for families if you avoid two things: the front row of the adult correfoc and the beach at fireworks time. Everything else is designed so kids can keep going.

The kids' correfoc is the obvious plan. Saturday the 26th at 6:00 PM, Passeig de Gràcia, featuring five children's colles —Diables Infantils del Casc Antic, Escuats de la Malèfica del Coll, Banyetes d'Horta, Fills de Satan del Poble-sec, and Fures de Can Baró— with the same gunpowder in a mild version. Same clothing rules as the main event.

Parc de les Glòries, Thursday the 24th from 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM, is the discovery of the year: open-air circus, games, and installations at the new venue. Highlights include Circo de las Musarañas, Jirafas de La Brava, Tres Tristes Trolls, the flamenco-circus of Alboroto Circ, and the bee-themed street theater Kabuts. Sunday the 27th at 11:00 AM it returns with El món de la Clariana.

Parc de l'Estació del Nord is another great afternoon spot. Thursday the 24th features legend storytelling at 12:00 PM and Confucius Institute traditional Chinese game workshops from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, for ages 6 and up.

The Giraffes. The family musical Girafes en ruta runs two passes on Saturday the 26th in Plaça de Comas (Les Corts), at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM, repeating on Sunday the 27th in Plaça de Sarrià at the same times.

Circus at Fòrum and Trinitat. Parc dels Auditoris programs the Shanghai Acrobatic Gala on Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 PM, the water circus Surcouf, and the New Orleans-style parade Los Boozan Dukes. At Parc de la Trinitat, catch Korean urban dance by A-Run Crew and participatory installations by Itinerània.

For Thursday morning, Pallassos Sense Fronteres at the Ciutat Meridiana Aqueduct, starting at 11:00 AM, is the least crowded plan on the entire schedule.

→ Thursday's 9:00 PM drones are a better family plan than Sunday's Piromusical: they finish at twenty past, the crowd clears out earlier, and you don't have to negotiate a midnight return.

Culture: free museums, exhibitions, and Park Güell

Open doors on Thursday, September 24. Around fifty museums and municipal buildings open for free. No reservation needed: CCCB, Fundació Joan Miró, Museu de la Música, Castell de Montjuïc, CaixaForum, MUHBA (Plaça del Rei, El Call, Vil·la Joana, and El Born), Pavelló Mies van der Rohe, Museu del Disseny, Museu de Ciències Naturals, Museu Frederic Marès, Monestir de Pedralbes, Museu Tàpies, Museu Olímpic, and Llotja de Mar. Reservation required: MNAC, Museu Picasso, Palau Güell, and Poble Espanyol. CosmoCaixa and the Botanical Garden extend free entry from September 23 to 27.

The raffle for 20,000 free tickets to the Sagrada Família closed on September 20 at 9:00 PM: if you didn't sign up, there's no way in for free this Mercè. Winners enter via Carrer de la Marina during afternoon time slots.

→ If your name is Mercè, some private spaces offer free entry or discounts. Moco Museum is giving free tickets on the 24th.

Exhibitions are the part almost nobody looks at and probably the highlight of the cultural program:

• Moltes Mercès. Els cartells de la Festa Major — Museu Frederic Marès, until October 12. Every poster published since 1979, when La Mercè became a popular festival. Tuesday-Wednesday 10 AM to 7 PM, Thursday-Saturday 10 AM to 10 PM, Sunday 11 AM to 10 PM.
• Seguici Popular — Palau de la Virreina, September 25–27. L'Àliga, el Lleó, la Mulassa, el Bou, la Víbria, el Drac, la Tarasca, and the Cavallets Cotoners on display up close.
• Dracs i Bèsties de Foc — El Born CCM, until September 26. 10 AM to 8 PM.
• Singulars de la festa and Restaurats! — La Casa dels Entremesos, until September 27. The historic Old Giants of Plaça Nova turn 120 and have been restored, recovering their 1906 polychromy and brand-new outfits.

Decostumari at Park Güell. Thursday the 24th at 7:30 PM and 9:00 PM at Plaça de la Natura, L'Esbord and the Orquestra de Músiques d'Arrel de Catalunya bring together over fifty artists and seven Barcelona dance groups to reinterpret traditional Catalan music. It's the city's tribute to Gaudí in his dedicated year, and it's free to watch.

Sardanas, where always and where not. MercèDansa fills Avinguda de la Catedral on Saturday the 26th at 11:00 AM, and Sunday brings a competitive sardana contest in the same spot. The rarity is the cobla performance in front of Sagrada Família on Saturday at 11:00 AM.

Shanghai in the program

Twenty-five years of sister-city ties are celebrated in style. The guest city appears in the rolling lanterns of the Toc d'inici and Cavalcada, Thursday's drones, the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra on Friday at 11:00 PM on Avinguda de la Catedral, Shanghai Conservatory of Music jazz on Wednesday, the Shanghai Restoration Project that same night, Shanghai Rhythms in Dance at Estació del Nord, and Saturday's Chinese pyrotechnics slot.

The most unexpected piece is at Ciutadella: chef Wenbin Peng bridges Shanghai and the Mediterranean on Saturday at 1:30 PM.

Eating, drinking, and reading

Terra i Gust sets up in Parc de la Ciutadella from September 25 to 27 along Passeig dels Til·lers: tastings, showcookings, workshops, and concerts centered on sustainable, local food. It's the festival's gastronomic epicenter and is open all three days.

El pastís de la Mercè has existed since 2022 and remains the most honest pastry invention by any guild: sablé tartlet, almond cream, honey cream, fresh fig wedges, and sliced almonds on top. Sold in bakeries affiliated with the Gremi de Pastisseria de Barcelona during the festival. Buy yours Thursday morning before they sell out.

La Setmana del Llibre en Català coincides with La Mercè for the third consecutive year. September 18–27 at Passeig de Lluís Companys, right by Arc de Triomf: 98 stalls, 282 publishers, over 350 activities, and free admission. Sunday the 27th closes at 2:30 PM.

How to get around and when to head out

FGC confirms uninterrupted service on the nights of the 23rd, 25th, and 26th, with the L6 to Sarrià, L7 to Avinguda Tibidabo, and L12 to Reina Elisenda running every 20 minutes, continuous funicular service in Vallvidrera, and special trains to Terrassa and Sabadell between 4:35 AM and 4:55 AM on the mornings of the 24th, 26th, and 27th. On the night of the Piromusical, two extra L8 trains depart Plaça d'Espanya at 11:23 PM and 11:37 PM. The metro usually extends hours on those same nights: check tmb.cat before heading out, because this year's finale isn't in Montjuïc and transit crowds will concentrate around Vila Olímpica.

Three practical tips to save an hour of wandering:

• Piromusical. The fireworks launch from Bogatell breakwater. Nova Icària fills up first; the upper stretch of Bogatell and Passeig Marítim toward Mar Bella offer equally good views with easier exits.
• Correfoc. Passeig de Gràcia is closed off from mid-afternoon. If you're watching rather than participating, stay on the sidewalks between Rosselló and Mallorca: more depth, fewer shoves.
• Cavalcada. Plaça de Catalunya at 5:30 PM is a bottleneck. Catch it mid-route along Portal de l'Àngel, where it moves more freely.

Frequently asked questions about La Mercè 2026

When is La Mercè 2026? From Wednesday, September 23 to Sunday, September 27. La Mercè Day is Thursday the 24th.

Is September 24 a holiday in Barcelona? Yes. It's one of the city's two local holidays in 2026, alongside May 25. Outside Barcelona, it's a regular workday.

Where is the Piromusical this year? At Nova Icària beach, Sunday the 27th at 10:00 PM. Fired from Bogatell breakwater and lasting about 30 minutes. It's the first time it won't be held on Avinguda Maria Cristina.

Are the concerts free? All of them. There are 109 between Música Mercè and BAM across fourteen outdoor stages. The only one with limited capacity is Teatre Grec.

Can you bring kids to the correfoc? To the kids' version on Saturday the 26th at 6:00 PM, yes: it's made for that. For the 8:30 PM version, watch from a side sidewalk and wear cotton clothing.

Which museums are free? About fifty, on Thursday the 24th. Most require no reservation; MNAC, Picasso, Palau Güell, and Poble Espanyol require advance booking. The Sagrada Família raffle is already closed.

Who gives the opening speech? Toni Falgueras and his daughter Meritxell Falgueras, from Celler de Gelida, Wednesday the 23rd at 7:00 PM in the Saló de Cent.

The poster: 33 square meters staying in La Marina

The poster for La Mercè 2026 is designed by Cinta Vidal, a Barcelona-based painter and muralist, marking the first time the festival has commissioned both a poster and a mural simultaneously. The image features a pattern of recognizable buildings from the city's districts seen from impossible, non-matching perspectives — Vidal's trademark style — with three out-of-scale objects: espadrilles for popular culture, a euphonium for music, and cruets for cooking. It's this year's nod to Barcelona as the World Capital of Architecture.

The 33-square-meter mural will remain permanently at Biblioteca Francesc Candel in the La Marina neighborhood. It's not a campaign piece that gets taken down on the 28th: it's public art, located just two metro stops from Zona Franca. The full piece and an explanation by the artist herself can be found on the official poster page.

And if you want the complete program, hour by hour and district by district, it's right here: official La Mercè 2026 program at barcelona.cat.

La Mercè has been the patron saint of Barcelona since 1687, when the Consell de Cent vowed to honor her following a locust plague; Pius IX ratified it in 1868. As a major festival, it launched in 1871, running from September 24 to October 1 under the impetus of Rius i Taulet, and took its current form in 1902. One hundred and fifty-five years later, the city still shuts down Passeig de Gràcia to set it on fire on a Saturday night.