Tourism

We’re celebrating this year’s Carnival from 8 to 14 February, with a programme of over a hundred activities reaching every district in the city. The fun gets under way on Fat Thursday with the opening ‘Arribo’ ceremony and the ‘Taronjada’ orange battle, with Queen Belluga and the seven ambassadors at the heart of the action, along with some very curious guests.

The city is once again set to fill with colour, music and festive fun as Carnival brings seven days of revelry and celebrations, staring with the ‘Arribo’ ceremony on Thursday, 8 February. This is the point where Queen Belluga and her carnival entourage make their entrance, getting the party under way with the traditional parade, starting at 6.10 pm and making ats way along La Rambla to reach the Palau de la Virreina.

The central moment in the opening ceremony at this year’s Carnival comes at 6.30 pm, when some very special guests roll up: Queen Belluga has made her way around the world look for the best carnivals. Now she’s back, joined with a group of very curious characters to make Barcelona’s celebrations even more zany and comical. Dance, theatre and circus arts combine in this performance, aimed at young and old alike.

The opening event for Carnival in Barcelona concludes with the traditional ‘Taronjada’ (originally a pitched battle with participants throwing oranges, nowadays replaced by orange paper), which starts at 7.10 pm.

Parades and activities in all districts

Gastronomy is one of the main aspects for Carnestoltes, with botifarra sausages, cakes and omelettes. Because of this, Fat Thursday and the city’s markets and community centres fill with competitions and tastings with these typical carnival foods.

Carnival parades will be back in the city’s neighbourhoods over the weekend, with dozens of processions and dances filling the ten districts with floats, costumes and fun, as well as parallel activities such as competitions, exhibitions and workshops.

The Burial of the Sardine rounds the festivities off on Ash Wednesday, a day made easier thanks to communal afternoon snacks, parades and children’s activities organised by community centres and organisations all around the city. Between the sighs and the tears, we’ll bid farewell to Their Majesties the King and Queen of Carnival and welcome Old Mother Lent.

You’ll find full information and the programme for Carnival in Barcelona on the website barcelona.cat/carnaval.