The Barcelona Christmas Festival is being held from 20 to 30 December, turning Plaça Catalunya into a grand stage with a free programme of 25 shows by 17 performing arts companies and 8 music groups. Thirteen shows are being performed for the first time in the city.
Barcelona is gearing up for an inclusive, diverse and solidarity Christmas, where everybody is invited to share an endless table symbolising our open and welcoming city. Everything starts on 28 November, with a big show in Passeig de Gràcia at 6 pm to switch on the festive lights.
Created especially for the occasion, the production Solvern is directed by Sigrun Fritsch and features collaboration between German and Catalan artists, including the urban dance company Iron Skulls and the scenographer Llorenç Corbella. The show combines urban dance, rap and visual effects to symbolise hope and cohesion through an immersive experience where 28 performers move between five stages in Passeig de Gràcia, with projections and fireworks.
As from 20 December, Plaça Catalunya becomes the epicentre for stage art with the Barcelona Christmas Festival, offering over 25 shows featuring theatre, circus, dance and music through to 30 December. The festival includes activities for all the family, with small-format shows in the morning, dance and street circus in the afternoons, along with varied music concerts ranging from groove to folk. Activities feature local and international artists, with a travelling show around the districts too.
Plaça Sant Jaume will be hosting two notable Christmas installations from 29 November to 5 January. One is a 20-point star, designed by the architect Xevi Bayona and the creator Àlex Posada and located on one side of the square, offering an immersive audiovisual show with music and lights synchronised on the façades of the City Hall and the Catalan government headquarters. The other is the Christmas tree that Mercabarna offers the city, decorated by the florist Xavier Lloveras and paying homage to the stars and the values of peace, hope and love. There’s also a chance to visit the traditional nativity scene in the Pati de Carruatges at the City Hall, which marks the centenary of Joan Salvat-Papasseit, while on the other side of the city there’s also the traditional nativity scene at the Monestir de Pedralbes, with dioramas representing the Nativity and the adoration of the Three Kings.
The Sons de Cuitat cycle brings music to markets and shopping hubs in the city’s ten districts from 7 December to 3 January, with over 80 concerts by local outfits representing Barcelona’s artistic wealth. This cultural and shopping project offers a wide array of genres such as jazz, indie, classical music, folk, pop, funk, soul, rumba, opera and electronic sounds.
Elsewhere, the Christmas concert by the Orfeó Català is being given in Plaça Catedral on 3 January, a free event with the choir performing Christmas classics conducted by Pablo Larraz.
The New Year’s Eve show in Montjuïc will be one of the main events of the Christmas season, offering a spectacular fusion of music, fireworks and over 500 drones to light up the sky, seeing out the year in a celebration of love and coexistence.
The Three Kings will be back in Barcelona on 5 January to make a triumphant entrance at the Portal de la Pau and take part in the parade at 6 pm. Before that, the Three Kings Toy Factory in Sant Andreu will be opening on 27 December, where families can see how the gifts from the Three Kings are created. In Nou Barris, the Royal Camp will be open from 2 to 5 January with a new set and a marquee for the Royal Pages. There will also be a cultural scene at the Casa de l’Aigua about King Balthasar’s family, from 28 to 30 December.
As for fairs, the 10th Responsible Consumption and Social and Solidarity Economy Fair is being held in Plaça Catalunya from 19 to 29 December, with sixty companies offering quality sustainable products and awareness activities for family audiences. The city will also be able to enjoy other Christmas fairs such as the Santa Llúcia Fair from 29 November to 23 December, with 215 stalls, the Sagrada Família Christmas Fair from 23 November to 23 December, with 74 craft and food stalls, and the Three Kings Fair from 14 December to 6 January, with 175 stalls selling toys and craft gif items in Gran Via.
Finally, to light up the festive season Barcelona will have more than 110 kilometres of Christmas lights this year, with 25 light totems in different districts and 14 unique buildings to be lit up. On some days the lights will stay on until 1 am or 2 am, with an overall budget of 3.3 million euros. There’s a new route around iconic establishments in the Gòtic and Raval neighbourhoods too, while in Torre Baró the lights will be inspired by the film El 47 and the city’s 39 municipal markets are also set to shine with special activities. In addition, 100 activities in the district will add vitality to local commerce, with The Nose Race making a return on 31 December.