Festivals and cultural events Catalonia

International short film and animation festival. With more than 5,000 short films submitted each year, Mecal has become one of the most important festivals in its field in Spain. For about a month, screening sessions are organized in various areas of the city, including the French Institute, Macba and the Arts Santa Mònica artistic centre. Every Saturday in summer, Mecal Air offers film screenings in the open air in the Elisava gardens, behind the Museu del Disseny in Barcelona.

Under the name of Portalblau, this summer festival of l'Escala was born in 2008, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 100 years of the beginning of the excavations of Empúries. It is dedicated to different musical experiences, but also to Mediterranean activities. You will appreciate its particularly impressive settings, such as the Greek Agora of the Empúries deposits, the small creek of Escala, the mar d'en Bassa or the Alfolí de la sal (a 17th century salt warehouse).

A major music festival celebrated in the Parc del Fòrum, each year welcoming big names from the international scene. The program is eclectic, with a wide variety of artists and musical styles, including pop, world music, electro, reggae and rock. Cruïlla means "crossroads" in Catalan, a name that perfectly illustrates the spirit of the festival and its desire to be open to all styles and cultures of the world. Some 80,000 people attend its open-air concerts on the Fòrum esplanade, with the sea as a backdrop.

Parallel to La Mercè, free concerts of national and international artists in the different areas of the city centre.

A music festival in several rooms of the city: Palau de la musica, L'Auditori and Gran Teatre del Liceu. Peaks of the bill jazz, flamenco and song author. Read more

International festival of musical documentary. Excellent programming in several rooms of Barcelona. 

International demonstration exclusively dedicated to video art. Many bars, shops and galleries take part in the festival exposing works by artists.

A few days after the Sainte-Eulalie celebrations, the Llum BCN festival takes over with a program dedicated to light. For three days, the lighting installations, mapping (video projection on facades) and other artistic creations transform the city into a laboratory for experimentation in the open air. Since 2018, the festival has been celebrated in the Poblenou district, where the old factories, wastelands and chimneys of the industrial era are a wonderful playground for artists!