Barcelona Online | What's on in Barcelona

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•See also our "Ages ago" page (link above) for other annual events...

15-21 August
Festa Major de Gràcia
Gràcia, once separated from Barcelona by green fields, is now one of its more bohemian districts, much loved by those into ethnic restaurants and spending the day lounging on café terraces as well as being home to Barcelona's punks and squatters. It is also home to one of the more vibrant street festivals, with 600 events (dance, theatre, music...) over 9 nights.

The neatly designed site has the basic information about what's on...

•We like: The annual competition to decorate the streets
•Too hot: Barcelona in August
•Languages: Catalan only

September 23
La Mercé
Barcelona's "festa major", La Mercé, is named after its patron saint and includes music and dance as well as some spectacular traditions such as the castellers (human castles, pictured, right) and the correfoc (literally the firerun), at which dragons belch fire over the packed crowds and demons spray everyone with sparks.

The Mercé also includes a very popular 10km fun run across the city.

•We liked: Being sprayed with sparks... No, really: it was kind of, you know, kinky!
•Not so hot: Don't expect the official site to be up and running long in advance
•Languages: English (very limited), Spanish and Catalan

October 2-12
Sitges Film Festival
A popular seaside resort some 40km down the coast from Barcelona, Sitges has an equally popular film festival, which this year celebrates its 42nd edition.

The main sections are science-fiction, fantasy and horror with both commercial and non-commercial movies.

•Languages: English, Spanish and Catalan

October 18
Barcelona Triathlon
If you can't wait till March for the Barcelona Marathon, there's always the Triathlon, with a 1.5km swim, a 40km bike ride and a 10km run on a circuit stretching from the beach to the Arc de Triomf and the Torre Agbar.

There's also the possibility of entering a three person team, with each member taking one stage.

•We liked: Getting off the beastly bike (the only bit we did like, in fact)
•Not so hot: The organization left a bit to be desired in 2008
•Languages: English, Spanish and Catalan

October 29-November 1
XV Manga Festival
The La Farga de L'Hospitalet trade fair centre, just outside Barcelona, hosts a hugely popular offshoot of Barcelona's main (June) Comic Fair.

October 29-November 1
ArtFutura
The eighteenth edition of ArtFutura, a digital art and new media festival, includes a wide range of workshops, conferences, performances, special presentations and audio-visuals.

November 7-15
Saló Nautico
Barcelona's International Boat Show is one of the biggest and most interesting of its many trade fairs. See our review.

December
Christmas in Barcelona
We have a few odd Christmas traditions here in Barcelona, as this page shows...

If you are visiting Barcelona and going to be decorating the house for Christmas - particularly if you have a crib (Nativity scene), don't miss the Feria de Santa Lucia, in the square in front of the Cathedral.

As for those odd traditions, note the traditional Catalan figure of the "caganer", the (ahem...) "shitter" (as illustrated, right).

December 19-20
Encuentro Práctico ELE
The "Encuentro práctico para profesores de ELE", now in its seventeenth year, is an annual congress for teachers of Spanish as a foreign language.

27 December 2009-4 January 2010
Barcelona's annual "Festival de la Infancia" trade fair (this year the 44th edition) is a great day out for kids - with basically anything you could wish the Three Kings (aka Santa) would bring you. For details, check the festival site.

2010
Date to be announced
Barcelona World Race
The Barcelona World Race is a two-handed, non-stop round the world yacht race. Nine teams competed in the first event (2008) -- 25,000 miles in three months in (er, let me check...) an "IMOCA Open 60 monohull".

7 March 2010
Barcelona Marathon
After a public outcry when Barcelona town hall refused permission (I mean, I ask you, what town hall wants to promote sport, for goodness sake?!!!), the Barcelona Marathon is back, with a route taking in a number of Barcelona's big sights (Nou Camp, the Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia, the Torre Agbar...).

Pictured, right, Barcelona-Online editor Tom Walton leads the field mid-way through the 1986 edition... [Er... "appears to lead"? Ed.].

•We liked: The website's countdown to the big day
•Not so hot: Er... maybe I'll wait till tomorrow to start training.
•Languages: English, Spanish, Catalan and French.

•See also our "Ages ago" page for other annual events...

What's on in Barcelona

>> Ages ago | Just missed it | On this month | Coming up