Manchester to join Barcelona festival programme

The festival attracts hundred of thousands of visitors to Barcelona each year

Manchester will become the first English “guest city” at Barcelona’s famous La Mercè cultural festival next year.

Manchester and Barcelona's city councils have teamed up to curate the programme for the 2025 festival, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors into Barcelona each year.

The festival traditionally showcases Catalan culture, outdoor arts and music but will now also feature a programme of Mancunian-born productions, Manchester City Council said.

It follows a recent visit to Barcelona by council leader Bev Craig and deputy leader Garry Bridges, who met Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni.

'Showcase talent'

Craig said: "We're honoured to have been invited by Barcelona to be the 2025 guest city at their historic La Mercè Festival.

“Our two cities share very similar visions through celebrations like the incredible La Mercè festival and our own Manchester Day and a packed programme of year-round city-wide cultural activity."

Manchester cultural organisation XTRAX will act as the creative director for the guest city programme, following its years-long relationship with cultural organisations in Barcelona.

XTRAX director Maggie Clarke said it was a good opportunity for Manchester to showcase its talent in a European festival “in light of the challenges to European mobility presented by Brexit”.

The festival is held each September in honour of the patron saint La Mercè.