September is here, and it’s time to leave summer behind and take on everything 2026-27 has in store. It’s also time to bring all our renewed energy to celebrating the city’s festa major, or main local festival: La Mercè.
This year’s poster, created by Cinta Vidal, pays tribute to the city by inviting us to take a fresh look at it from new perspectives, a fitting approach given Barcelona’s role as the World Capital of Architecture 2026. All the districts are represented in the poster, including District 11, Cities of Palestine.
A great festival needs a great pregoner, or opening speaker, and as this year we are the European Capital of Small Retail, we’d like to recognise our long-standing local shops. That’s why the pregoner will be Toni Falgueras, owner of the iconic Celler Gelida, representing shops and businesses in our neighbourhoods that are part of our daily lives and part of the real Barcelona, a city with its own personality and identity. Falgueras will be accompanied by his daughter Meritxell, as an example of how small business can be a family tradition.
La Mercè represents both tradition and innovation, just like our guest city, Shanghai. To mark twenty-five years of twinning, we’ll enjoy its art and culture with over a hundred artists from Shanghai and from Barcelona’s Chinese community. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover and connect with a culture over a thousand years old.
This year, La Mercè will be a festival by everyone and for everyone, as diverse and vibrant as the city itself. Enjoy it from different perspectives, as reflected in the poster, embracing joy, camaraderie and the pride of being part of a city as unique and beautiful as Barcelona.
