On Friday the 9th, at 8:00 p.m., the Àliga de la Ciudad will leave the City Hall to lead the first parade of Barcelona’s winter festival, which will culminate in the traditional Àliga dance in the presbytery and in front of the main altar of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar. The entourage of the Àliga protocols will parade through the streets announcing the beginning of the festivities. The next parade will take place on Saturday morning, in which gegantons, capgrossos, cuques, bestias and cavallets from the colles and schools of Barcelona will dance together through the streets of the city, led by the gegantona Laia.
On Sunday morning, the Encuentro de Gigantes en Ciutat Vella and the Entourage of Santa Eulàlia will take place, with the giant Laia and the banner of Santa Eulàlia leading the parade, accompanied by the Popular Entourage. On Monday the 12th, Santa Eulàlia’s day, the parade of the gigantic Laia will mark the end of the parades, with the Santa Eulàlia banner ceremony at 9:45 a.m. on the balcony of the City Hall, in charge of the mayor and the municipal corporation, and the Paseo de las Laies, the floral offering at the descent of Santa Eulàlia and the dance of Santa Eulàlia, the same Monday afternoon.
Fire and castles
Fire will also be the protagonist on Saturday the 10th, with the firefight of the little devils and the little beasts, starting at 6:30 p.m., from the Plaza de Sant Jaume, passing through Carrer de Ferran, La Rambla, the Passage of Colom and the Plaza Real. And, starting at 8:00 p.m., the Santa Eulàlia correfoc will take the same route in reverse, ending in front of the city’s Town Hall.
On Sunday morning, in the same square of Sant Jaume, the traditional castle day will be held, starting at 11:30 a.m., an old-fashioned day in which, in a time of 60 minutes, the groups will have to make all their castles simultaneously The eight gangs of the city will participate: Castellers de Barcelona, ??Sants, Vila de Gràcia, Poble-sec, Sagrada Família, Jove de Barcelona, ??Sarrià and the Esquerdats de l’Esquerra de l’Eixample.
Bicentennial of Anselm Clavé
The music can be enjoyed on the stage installed in the Plaza de Sant Jaume on Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th. This year marks the bicentenary of the birth of the Barcelona musician, poet and journalist Josep Anselm Clavé. That is why the Federation of Cors de Clavé has prepared a whole year of celebrations and commemorations of this anniversary, and the first big event will take place on Saturday of Santa Eulàlia, in a concert in which the group Sau 30 will join the Cantanna Choir , from Vic, and Cor La Veu from Voltregà to sing the best songs with Pep Sala and the group, paying tribute to Carles Sabater and fusing choral singing and rock. On Friday, Tradicionàrius will descend from Vila de Gràcia to Plaza de Sant Jaume with the 37th Tradicionàrius International Folk Festival, which will fill the Santa Eulàlia Festival with music with a folk dance and a concert by Glam Folk and La Kitchen.
Also in the musical section, on Saturday the festival for the city’s youngest people, Lali Jove!, will take place at the Moll de la Fusta! At 8:00 p.m. the Barna Jove 2023 Awards will be presented to the winning entities and, then, at 8:30 p.m., the musical performances by Fades, Svetlana, Sexenni and DJ Trapella will begin.
With respect to dance, in the Avenue de Catedral there will be different traditional shows, such as the meeting of baton gangs, the children’s sardanist meeting of Santa Eulàlia and the 19th Children’s and Juvenile Dance Show on Saturday morning; and the dance of Santa Eulàlia, the performance of Esbart Catalan de Danzantes, in the afternoon. In addition, you can also enjoy Eulàlia, the show that pays tribute to the life of Saint Eulàlia, from Esbart Ciutat Comtal.
And, as is tradition, many of the city’s facilities will hold open days during the city’s winter festival, such as Barcelona City Hall, which can be visited on February 10 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., as well as like different museums in the city.
The city is once again filled with color, music and party with the arrival of Carnival, seven days of debauchery and celebration that begin on Thursday, February 8 with the Arrival. It is the moment in which Queen Belluga and the carnival entourage enter the scene and inaugurate the festival with the traditional parade, which will begin at 6:10 p.m. and will travel along La Rambla to the Palau de la Virreina.
This year, the central show at the start of the Carnival, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., will have some very special guests: Queen Belluga has traveled the world in search of the best carnivals. When she returns from the trip, she is accompanied by a group of bizarre characters who will make the Barcelona party an even more delirious and comical celebration. Dance, theater and circus will be combined in this staging aimed at children and adults.
This year, the central show at the start of the Carnival, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., will have some very special guests: Queen Belluga has traveled the world in search of the best carnivals. When she returns from the trip, she is accompanied by a group of bizarre characters who will make the Barcelona party an even more delirious and comical celebration. Dance, theater and circus will be combined in this staging aimed at children and adults.
The opening ceremony of the Barcelona Carnival will conclude with the traditional Naranjada, which is expected to begin at 7:10 p.m.
Parades and activities in all districts
Gastronomy is one of the strong points of the carnival: sausages, cocas and tortillas cannot be missed. For this reason, on Lardero Thursday the markets and civic centers are filled with contests and tastings of these typical carnival products.
During the weekend the carnival parades will return through the city’s neighborhoods. Dozens of parades and dances will fill the ten districts with floats, costumes and fun, with parallel activities such as contests, exhibitions and workshops.
The burial of the sardine will put an end to the party on Ash Wednesday, a day that will be made more bearable thanks to the snacks, parades and children’s activities organized by civic centers and entities throughout the city. Between roars, cries and lamentations, we will say goodbye to Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Carnival to welcome the Old Lent.
You will find all the information and programming for the Barcelona Carnival on the website barcelona.cat/carnaval.
