A large-format show in Montjuïc
The New Year's Eve show is renewed this year with the incorporation of the Barcelona musician Marc Parrot as musical and creative director. Parrot has created an original composition of about 20 minutes that articulates the entire staging and combines traditional Catalan instruments with electronic textures, building its own sound identity for Barcelona's New Year's Eve.
"I wanted the theme to have entity and identity so that it could only be used for the production in the capital of Catalonia," said the artist, who explained that the common thread of the work is natural elements —air, water, earth, and fire—, as symbols of Catalan dreams, miscegenation, roots, and rauxa.
The visual and pyrotechnic production is once again carried out by the French company Groupe F, specialized in large-format shows. Music, drones, audiovisual technology, lighting, and pyrotechnics will combine to transform Montjuïc into an immersive stage of great visual intensity, under the direction of Christophe Berthonneau and with the pyrotechnic design of Rodrigo Oyarzo-Contador, which acquires a special prominence within the show.
"Music, drones, audiovisual technology, lighting, and pyrotechnics will combine to transform Montjuïc into an immersive stage"
The technical setup of this edition highlights the complexity and scale of the project: 500 drones, 1,400 kilos of pyrotechnic material, effects that will reach 180 meters in height, and a deployment of 78 moving lights distributed between Puig i Cadafalch square and a large-tonnage crane located at 60 meters. The coordination of all these elements —music, light, drones, pyrotechnics, and Magic Fountain— will require more than 25,000 synchronization commands.
One of the most anticipated moments will be the return of the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, which will flow again on New Year's Eve after having been turned off for several years due to drought. This year, the fountain is fully integrated into the visual narrative with a water choreography created specifically for the occasion.
The event, totally free, will begin at 10 p.m. with a special Magic Fountain show that will set the mood before the central moment of the celebration, scheduled around midnight. One more year, Reina Maria Cristina avenue will become a large open stage to bid farewell to 2025 and celebrate the arrival of 2026.
The party starts earlier: Early New Year's Eve in Barceloneta
Beyond the big night celebration, New Year's Eve in Barcelona moves forward a few hours at the Barceloneta Market. On December 31, this space will celebrate an early New Year's Eve with chimes and grapes at 12 noon. The party will begin at 11 a.m. with musical entertainment and will last until 2 p.m., consolidating itself as a popular and festive celebration that is already part of the city's calendar.
Nightclubs and venues: the night extends
When night falls, the celebration moves to venues and nightclubs, which will open with special programs to welcome the New Year. Razzmatazz will celebrate Razz New Year's Eve; Heliogàbal proposes a dinner with musical bingo before the chimes; Moog will celebrate New Year's Eve Moog Club; and Poble Espanyol will host a new edition of the New Year's Eve Party, with urban music, techno and greatest hits from the eighties to the present, among many other proposals.
In addition, there will also be more classic format options, such as the Casino l'Aliança del Poblenou's verbena, which prepares a night with dinner, dancing and party favors accompanied by the SABOR SABOR orchestra.
Theaters also celebrate New Year's Eve
And not just nightclubs. Theaters also celebrate New Year's Eve. On the night of December 31, many Barcelona theaters join the celebration with special New Year's Eve performances. Among the highlights are Göteborg at La Villarroel (10 p.m.), L'amor venia amb taxi at Teatre Romea (9 p.m.), Germans de sang at Teatre Condal (8:30 p.m.), La torradora at Versus Glòries (10 p.m.), Sondheim x Sondheim at Teatre La Fàbrica (10:30 p.m.), Observin aquests fills de puta at Teatre Maldà (9:30 p.m.) and Pel davant i pel darrera at Teatre Borràs (9:45 p.m.). These are just some of the performances scheduled for New Year's Eve in the city's venues.
Mobility: metro without interruption
To facilitate travel during the celebration, the metro will operate 43 hours without interruption. Trains will run continuously from 5 AM on Wednesday, December 31, until midnight on Thursday, January 1. In total, eight lines and 165 stations of the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona metro network will be operational throughout New Year's Eve.
With this combination of popular festival, large-format show, culture, nightlife, and reinforced public service, Barcelona will bid farewell to 2025 and welcome 2026 with a plural, open celebration spread throughout the city.