When is the Festa Major d'Horta 2026?

The Festa Major d'Horta 2026 runs from Friday 4 September to Sunday 13 September 2026, according to council open data (Dates de festa major) + betevé; character from Cultura Popular (Ajuntament de Barcelona).

Festa Major d'Horta 2026: dates and what to expect

Last updated 12 August 2026

The Festa Major d'Horta 2026 runs from Friday 4 September to Sunday 13 September. Two weeks of festa in the oldest neighbourhood of its district, built on a vow made in 1731 in thanks for rain, with a cercavila that runs as many as six routes.

What it is

Horta, Barcelona — Rutes Històriques a Horta-Guinardó-carrer arenys 08. Districte d'Horta Guinardó / CC BY-SA

Horta is the oldest neighbourhood in the district that takes its name, with written references going back to the tenth century. The settlement began to grow in the sixteenth century around the plaça d'Eivissa, which is still one of its central points, and it stayed an independent town until Barcelona absorbed it. Enough of the old village survives in the street pattern that the festa still feels like a village festa rather than a city one.

It runs for roughly two weeks and covers everything: dances, concerts pitched at younger crowds, children's activities, communal meals, sporting events and gymkhanas. The barri's own cultural groups take a leading part, with dance exhibitions through the festa and a correfoc to close it.

A vow about rain

Like a good number of Catalan festes, this one began as a vow rather than a party. On 10 September 1731 the people of Horta made the vot del poble for the first time, in honour of Sant Gaudenci as co-patron of the neighbourhood, in thanks for the gift of rain. Every year since, on the same date, Horta has renewed it in a ceremony at the parish church of Sant Joan.

That is the thread running through the whole thing. The concerts and the gymkhanas are the modern layer; the ceremony at Sant Joan is the reason the date exists at all.

The washerwoman

The district's giantess represents a washerwoman, and she is a piece of local history rather than a costume choice. Horta was known for the quality of its water, and through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries its washerwomen were famous across Barcelona: they took in the laundry of the whole city and did it up here, where the water was good. The trade is gone and the giantess is the memorial.

Why this one is worth the trip

The cercavila is the thing to aim at. Every cultural colla in Horta takes part, and it is large enough that it runs as many as six different routes through the neighbourhood rather than one. That is unusual, and it means the parade comes to most of the barri rather than the barri coming to the parade.

Horta is also far enough up the hill to be genuinely outside the tourist city. You will hear more Catalan here than at most festes on this site, and the festa is aimed squarely at the people who live in it.

Where it is

Horta has written references going back to the tenth century and grew around the plaça d'Eivissa. Its festa began as the vot del poble, renewed every year since 1731 at the parish church of Sant Joan.

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Metro: Horta (L5).

In 23 days. The Festa Major d'Horta opens on Friday 4 September and runs to Sunday 13 September.

The programme, day by day

Every listing below comes from the council's own event feed for the festa, 9 records in total, with titles rendered into English. Times are as published by the organisers and can move on the night.