La Mercè: 100+ Concerts and 5 Days of Street Theater
FestivalCiutat Vella
Where
Various venues
Ages
All ages
Setting
Outdoors
Plan for
Drop-in, stay as long as kids last
Kids program
Mercè Petita: workshops, theater, circus, gentler fire run
Closing event
Piromusical (fireworks to music) launched from Barceloneta beach in 2026
What you need to know
- Five days, multiple entry points, so you can drop in for an hour or stay all afternoon.
- Separate kids' fire run, gentler pacing and smaller flames than the adult correfoc.
- Closing fireworks run late, the piromusical starts around 10pm, so plan a nap or a second wind.
About
La Mercè is Barcelona's patron-saint festival and the city's biggest free party, five days when the streets themselves become stages across all ten districts. The 2026 guest city is Shanghai, the first from Asia, bringing around 110 artists including the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe, and Chinese dragons dancing alongside Barcelona's own gegants. For families, Mercè Petita offers dedicated children's workshops, theater and circus, the daytime castellers and gegants parades in Plaça Sant Jaume suit small kids, a separate Correfoc Infantil gives a gentler fire run, and this year's closing piromusical launches from Barceloneta beach, visible from across the city.
Where it is
Various venues
Resources
Common questions
What else is on this weekend
See all events →More family picks, Friday to Sunday.
