The Fiesta Mayor de Barcelona is about to get underway with a whole week of celebrations and hundreds of activities ahead. La Mercè 2014 will transform the city with music, gunpowder and tradition in an especially important year.
Art and popular culture will fill Barcelona with the Fiestas de la Mercè 2014. With castellers (human towers) and correfocs, dance, fireworks and music, these days are always some of the best in the Catalan calendar.
There will be more than 600 activities and spectacles for all audiences, bringing the party to every street and square in the city. The celebrations will begin on Friday 19th and will end on Wednesday 24th September, the day of La Mercè.
The Tradition of La Mercè
Popular culture plays an exceptionally important role in the Fiesta Mayor de Barcelona.
On Friday 19th at 19.00, after the announcement of the start of the festival, traditional figures of historical beasts will take over the streets. Their route from the Palau de la Virreina to the Plaza Sant Jaume will open La Mercè 2014.
On Saturday 20th at 18.30 the giants’ parade, starting from the Portal de Santa Madrona and ending up in the Palau de la Virreina. Later, at 19.00, the sardana dances will arrive in the Plaza Nova. And to finish it all off, a parade with dragons and mythical creatures will fill the centre of Barcelona. That will be at 21.00 in the Plaza Sant Jaume.
On Sunday 21st, things will continue with a Ball de Bastons (traditional Catalan folk dance) at 10.00 in the Plaza Sant Jaume, giving the castellers time to get from the Palau de la Virreina to Pl Sant Jaume. In the afternoon, there will be a Tabalada concert in the Portal de l’Angel at 17.00, followed by a parade of devil-figures on the Via Laietana at 18:30. And it will all be topped off by the Gran Correfoc of the Fiestas de la Mercè in the Plaza Antoni Maura at 20:15.
On Tuesday 23rd, the Night of the Giants will be celebrated. The traditional Giants’ Parade, which will start at the Portal de Santa Madrona at 21.00, is a real carnival with fancy dress and costumes.
The big day for Barcelona is Wednesday 24th. The morning of the Fiesta Mayor opens in the Plaza de la Mercè at 8.00 and closes in the Plaza Sant Jaume, with parades at 11.00 and a large float parade with a panoply of attractions at 18.00.
Music at La Mercè
On the 19th, 20th, 21st and 23rd September, the city will enjoy the best sounds you can find. Barcelona will be full of music appropriate for every taste, with a total of 89 concerts, with bands from 14 countries. All this is in the hands of the Mercè Música and Barcelona Acción Musical (BAM).
The most central areas (Plaza Catalunya, Plaza Sant Jaume and the Avenida de la Catedral) will play host to most of the Mercè Música concerts.
Meanwhile, the Plaza dels Àngels, the Plaza Joan Coromines, the Moll de la Fusta and the Antiga Fàbrica Damm will hold the BAM concerts.
The Fòrum will be the point where the BAM and the Mercè Música come together. On these festival days, lovers of music will be able to enjoy three different settings (Fòrum Anfiteatre, Fòrum Esplanada and Fòrum Plataforma Marina). The BAM is becoming better and more international than ever, with more than 40 rock, pop and electronic concerts.
This year, one more location will be added to the list. The Playa de Bogatell (Bogatell Beach) will feature as a setting under the name “Mediterràniament” and will receive bands such as Manel, Txarango and the Troba Kung-Fú.
Music for everyone!
Art at La Mercè
This year, Stockholm will be invited into the Fiestas de la Mercè. This is an occasion to take full advantage of for the Swedish capital by bringing interesting music, dance and circus entertainments.
The Parc de la Ciutadella will host the Festival MAC (Mercè Street Arts) day and night. There will be a multitude of new circus entertainments. This is a spectacle for every taste in a magnificent setting. Meanwhile, the Castell del Montjuic (Montjuic Castle) will hold the contemporary circus with around 30 troupes from around the world.
Dance lovers won’t want to forget to be in the Plaza Sant Jaume on the 20th at 11.00. This will be their opportunity to attent the MercèDansa, an exhibition of dances which are seen in various areas of Catalonia. Anyone who misses this opportunity can go back to the same place at 18.00 for another chance to catch the show.
Continuing the collaboration between Barcelona and Stockholm, the facade of the Ayuntamiento (town hall) in Pl Sant Jaume will have a spectacular video projected onto it. “Barcekhlom” is a 20 minute video which you can see at any time between the 19th and 24th.
The final touch will come with the eagerly-anticipated Piromusical, the fantastic closing of la Mercè 2014. Under the title: “A Giant’s Dream”, the magic will mix music, water and pyrotechnics, accompanied by poetry and images projected onto a gigantic screen. This whole show will unfold by the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.
…and it doesn’t stop there
The Fiestas de la Mercè wouldn’t be complete without the usual sporting touch. The Mercè Run will see its 36th edition on Sunday 28th September, just after the Biketrial World Cup in Barcelona.
A festival on the verge of beginning. The Fiesta Mayor de Barcelona.
