A countrywide celebration of culture

Sum­mer fes­ti­vals are now a cul­tural main­stay in Cat­alo­nia. That was al­ready the case be­fore the pan­demic struck, but al­ready in 2021 and 2022 there were clear signs of pro­gres­sive re­cov­ery in the sec­tor. In 2023, the cul­tural sec­tor is back to full strength, as can be seen from the major con­certs that have taken place on Mon­tjuïc, and the re­cent suc­cesses of Pri­mav­era Sound and Sónar in Barcelona, with El Grec and Cruïlla on the way, with two new fes­ti­vals in the city, Nits de Barcelona, in the gar­dens of the Palau de Pe­dralbes, and Soul in Poble Es­panyol. One fes­ti­val dis­ap­pears but two emerge: a good metaphor to de­scribe a sec­tor in full growth.

Yet be­yond the Cata­lan cap­i­tal above all music fes­ti­vals and con­certs – along­side events de­voted to the other per­form­ing arts – will pro­lif­er­ate this sum­mer all over the coun­try. It is hard to find a re­gion or county that doesn’t have a fes­ti­val and some areas have more than one.

Which is not to say there haven’t been losses, as some younger fes­ti­vals that emerged dur­ing the pan­demic have been un­able to com­pete with a sec­tor back in full swing. A no­table ab­sence is the Cadaqués In­ter­na­tional Music Fes­ti­val, which last year reached its 50th edi­tion. Mean­while, an­other clas­sic, the Cas­tle of Per­al­ada Fes­ti­val, will cel­e­brate a re­duced edi­tion this sum­mer , while a new per­ma­nent au­di­to­rium is built in the gar­dens of the Em­pordà cas­tle.

As ev­i­denced on the fol­low­ing pages, which are not an ex­haus­tive guide but pro­vide some sum­mer high­lights, the num­ber of fes­ti­vals over the next few months make Cat­alo­nia unique in Eu­rope. The sum­mer fes­ti­vals are one of the coun­try’s cul­tural and eco­nomic as­sets, at­tract­ing not only a huge do­mes­tic pub­lic but also le­gions of tourists who visit us every sum­mer look­ing for an ex­pe­ri­ence that is more than just sun and sand.

fea­ture Sum­mer fes­ti­vals