Carnival time in Barcelona
All the districts in the city will be buzzing with activities from ‘Fat’ Thursday 28 February to 6 March.
Carnival is a big event in Catalonia and Barcelona isn’t going to miss out on the fun. To kick things off, the city will be greeting the King of the Carnival on Thursday in an event on the Ramblas created for the occasion by the Els Comediants comedy group. The resulting parade, complete with grotesque figures, will feature music from the Royal Carnival Orchestra and wind its way along Barcelona’s most iconic street while the façades of some of the buildings on the route will be blazoned with images of seven ambassadors, who are representatives of the excesses of the festival. Over the carnival season you can expect to see parades all over the city with people and kids in fancy dress, ending on Ash Wednesday with the traditional ‘burial of the sardine’.
The arrival of the King of the Carnival will take place at 6 pm on Thursday 28 February. The parade will begin at Arts Santa Mònica and head for Palau de la Virreina. Over the course of the carnival period, which will end on 6 March, all the districts of Barcelona will be celebrating the season with traditional omelette making competitions, parades and communal meals.
The parade on Thursday is free and open to all. Additional information is available from the City Council website.