Five days with 130 concerts, 80 urban arts shows, and 54 popular culture gatherings topped off with a Piromusical that will dance to the rhythm of a setlist designed by Rosalía. The light show with the international artist's musical selection will be the grand finale of a major festival that this year grows in locations, reaching twenty stages distributed throughout the city.
Among the new spaces that will host part of the Mercè program is the Port Olímpic, which debuts as a location in the major festival after its comprehensive renovation and its opening to the city. The Platja de la Nova Icària will also join the Mercè spaces, within the Cultural Regatta linked to the America's Cup, as recalled in a press conference by the Councilor for Culture, Xavier Marcé, and the head of Festivals of the Icub, Anna Lleó.
As expected, music will be one of the biggest attractions of the Mercè. The 130 concerts will feature artists such as Els Catarres, La Fúmiga, Triquell, Miki Núñez, Figa Flawas, Oques Grasses, and Maria Jaume. The major festival will also dance to the rhythm of the music of Casablanca, the guest city, which will bring performances such as those by Maalem Hassan Boussou and Raúl Rodríguez Ensamble at the Cathedral, and shows like the innovative 3DNAN on the Rambla del Raval.
This year's Mercè will include novelties such as open-air screenings at the Filmoteca de CatalunyaIn addition, the party will be marked this year by the celebration of great anniversaries linked to popular culture,as the 650 documented years of the Àliga de la Ciutat and the 200 years of Josep Anselm Clavé, with zarzuelas from the Aplec del Remei. Coinciding with the 600 years of the traditiongegantera, the festival will also include the Trobada Internacional de Gegants on Saturday and Sunday, as well as performances bycastellersSunday and Tuesday; sardanas also on Sunday, and thecorrefoc, on Saturday in Paseo de Gràcia.
More shows at the MAC
The city's main festival doesn't stop there: as usual, the Mercè Arts de Carrer (MAC) is part of its program, and this year it does so with 300 performances by 75 companies. Seven spaces distributed throughout the city will serve as stages for these artists, among them the Parc de l'Estació del Nord, which will be the epicenter of the MAC.
Montjuïc Castle, with proposals focused on circus, as well as Palauet Albéniz, Parc de l'Aqüeducte and Parc de la Trinitat, in addition to Port Olímpic, will host activities within the MAC, with the aim of offering Barcelona residents a decentralized festival that reaches various districts. Among the MAC's proposals, Sol Picó's Carrer 024 show stands out, in Port Olímpic, as well as Sergi Ots' performance in Albéniz, and the urban dance of choreographers Kader Attou and Mourad Merzouk in Trinitat.
In addition to the usual concerts, shows, open doors and popular culture gatherings, this Mercè comes with novelties, beyond the new locations. Highlights include open-air screenings at the Filmoteca de Catalunya, as well as gastronomic events such as Terra i Gust, and the coincidence of the main festival with the start of the Setmana del Llibre en Català, which will flood the area around Arc de Triomf with literature from September 20 to 29.
Another of Mercè's great protagonists will be the night sky. With the International Pyrotechnic Festival, on Platja de l'Espigó del Gas, fireworks will share the spotlight with concerts on Friday and Saturday nights, while on Sunday and Monday drones will take over: 300 of them will illuminate the city's sky, repeating last year's initiative and extending it one more day.
But the event that will make the sky shine the most will be the Piromusical, which will put an end to the city's main festival, this year with Rosalía's seal, who offered to choose the musical repertoire selflessly, as Marcé explained: "She makes the soundtrack as a gift," to the city and its main festival.