Barcelona reaps the fruits of its commitment to Christmas and to combining traditional elements with innovation and creativity with a local seal. The city has been chosen European Capital of Christmas 2026 in the category of large cities, in an award granted by the entity European Capital of Christmas, and which will shape a program of events and activities that will involve citizens.
The distinction promoted by the European Capital of Christmas —which operates as a non-profit entity sponsored by the EU— recognizes cities with a celebration model that serves as inspiration for other European municipalities in accordance with EU values. Now, the City Council will continue working on its strategic plan and on "how to continue improving the Christmas experience in the city", giving continuity to what has been done so far, as highlighted by the Commissioner for Economic Promotion, Nadia Quevedo: "It is a recognition of a job well done."
As Quevedo highlighted, for the distinction, special consideration has been given to "the values that we project from Barcelona with our city and our Christmas, which combines the most traditional part with more innovative elements, sustainability, multiculturalism." According to the commissioner, these are elements that build "a unique model in Europe."
Thus, Barcelona's capital status vindicates a Christmas model that combines tradition and innovation through fairs, markets, lighting installations, nativity scenes, technology and designer lights. All this, with the active participation of citizens and the commercial fabric as a common thread, which configure a celebration that projects Barcelona's creative capacity to the world.
In this sense, the award distinguishes those Christmas projects that promote the values of European culture. In this edition, the international jury, meeting in Waterford (Ireland), opted for the Catalan capital, emphasizing that "Barcelona's Christmas landscape is enriched by centuries of history, art and traditions, where the most deeply rooted local traditions converge with a profoundly multicultural identity."
Barcelona shares the distinction with two other categories: that of cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, and that of towns and villages with fewer than 10,000, which this year have recognized Wels (Austria) and Kirkop (Malta). The award winners have been distinguished through an open call to all cities in the 27 member states, in addition to Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The three cities take over from Vilnius (Lithuania), Celje (Slovenia), and the Cantabrian Noja. Precisely Vilnius will be the setting that will host the recognition gala for the new awarded cities, including Barcelona, on December 13, to assume the new Christmas capital status.