Horta Festival 2026 Dates and Opening Events
The Festa Major d'Horta 2026 will take place from Friday 4 to Sunday 13 September, according to the Ajuntament de Barcelona and local broadcaster betevé. The festivities span ten days, featuring dozens of cultural, musical and community activities across the Horta district. The opening event begins on Friday 4 September at 6pm with a popular night walk from Lluïsos d’Horta to Montserrat, starting at Carrer de Feliu i Codina, 7. Later that evening, the Parc de les Rieres d’Horta hosts a 'nit combativa' (combat night) with a warm-up by Txarly Brown at 8.30pm, a popular dinner at 9pm, and performances by 4caps, a tribute to Laurel Aitken, and La Rauxa from 10pm until 2.30am.
San Fermín Express and Opening Parade
A new highlight this year is the San Fermín Express, organised by the Association Casa de los Navarros. It takes place on Saturday 5 September from 10am to 3pm along Passeig de Maragall, 375. The event brings a Navarrese atmosphere to Horta with Basque pelota matches, traditional dances, a txupinazo at noon, and a symbolic encerrillo. Later that day, a parade of local associations winds through the neighbourhood from 5pm. It culminates at the Parc de les Rieres d’Horta, where child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Llúcia Viloca delivers the official festival speech at 6.30pm. Viloca is founder of the Carrilet Educational Centre and a pioneering figure in autism care in Catalonia. Sara Belbeida, district councillor for Horta-Guinardó, will also give an address at the ceremony.
Llúcia Viloca's involvement honours decades of work in child development and inclusive education in the district.
Evening Entertainment and Safety Measures
On the evening of 5 September, a free outdoor dinner takes place at Carrer de Pere Pau from 8.45pm, followed by 'Electrohorta' at the Horta viewpoint from 9pm to 2.30am. The music lineup includes Summer Soda at 9pm and Funk á Feria at 11pm. To ensure safety, the district will operate 'punts lila' (purple points) on concert nights to prevent sexist behaviour and aggression. The Horta-Guinardó Coexistence and Prevention Service will also run alcohol and drug prevention points on the nights of 5 and 12 September.
- The full festival programme is available in PDF format via the Ajuntament de Barcelona.
- Additional details can be found on beteve.cat, the city’s public media platform.
Primary sources: barcelona.cat. Reported by beteve.cat, Comunicació Carrilet, betevé.
