Festa Major de Gracia 2024 will start in Barcelona on August 14

From August 14 to 22, the Gracia district will host one of the most vibrant and anticipated street festivals in Barcelona — Festa Major de Gracia. For 8 days, the district will turn into a fairytale land with fantastically decorated streets and squares. The 2024 program has many interesting things planned: parades, competitions, fairs, master classes, live music everywhere and noisy parties until the morning.

The main event of Festa Major de Gracia is the competition for the title of the most beautiful street. Preparations for it begin long before the festival. The organizing committees of each street choose a theme and develop decoration plans in the strictest confidence. A few days before the start of the festival, the decorations are presented to the public, and voting begins for the best decoration.

In 2024, the organizers decided to postpone the award ceremony for the winners of the street decoration competition. It will be held not on August 17, as usual, but on the 19th. This is done so that festival guests do not give preference to the winning streets, but look around the entire area.

Festa Major de Gracia 2024 will begin on August 14, when the proclamation will be read. This year, the speakers will be the famous giants Torradet and Gresca, who are celebrating their 25th anniversary. They were created in 1999 as symbols of the Festa Major de Gracia and have become an integral part of the festival.

The giants’ parades are one of the highlights of the Festa Major de Gracia. In 2024, there will be several. On August 15, during the Popular Culture Parade (Cercavila de Cultura Popular), Torradet and Gresca will receive a huge birthday cake. The event La Convidada dels Gigants de Gràcia, which will take place on August 17, will also be dedicated to the birthday boys and girls. On Tuesday, August 20, the giants will take to the streets of the district again.

You can see the full program of the Festa Major de Gracia at this link. The organizers have planned many live concerts by different performers. Stages will be set up in almost every square in the district. All performances are free to attend. The parties in the streets will last until about 2:30 a.m., and the fun in the bars continues until the morning.

This year, there are several innovations for festival guests. A “silent night” is planned for August 18. On this evening, there will be no concerts or events with amplified sound. Every day from 9:00 to 11:00 — time for “quiet visits” to decorated streets for people with special needs — with autism, for example.

In addition, Festa Major de Gracia has joined the municipal strategy to combat unwanted loneliness. On August 20 and 21, an interactive structure will be installed in Joanic Square to inform residents and visitors of this problem. The program also includes several events for lonely elderly people.

To see the most interesting things, download the map from the official website of the Gracia district. It shows not only decorated streets, but also public transport stops, pedestrian areas and places for parties. You can also use the map of decorated streets created by barcelona-life.com.

 

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Photo by Francesc Jimenez from flickr.com