More about Sant Jordi
The celebrations of this year's Diada de Sant Jordi will start on 20 April. During the days leading up to 23 April, there will be conversations, tributes and other activities that will turn the city into a literary epicentre.
Again this year, 23 April will see book and rose stands fill Barcelona's streets from first thing in the morning.
This year, though, the Diada de Sant Jordi in Barcelona offers some new features and a growing range of literary activities in the run-up that will be held on 20 to 22 April and that will make this year's Sant Jordi even more, if that's possible, the grand festival of literature.
In 1995, the UNESCO declared 23 April as International Book Day. In December 2015, Barcelona was named UNESCO City of Literature. This year, these recognitions and challenges come together in an outstanding programme of activities that will show the world Barcelona's more literary side.
The starting gun for the Sant Jordi events will be on 20 April, three days before the Diada, with the traditional Proclamation of Reading at the Saló de Cent, which will be given this year by Yasmina Reza. Reza will be in conversation with Xavier Albertí, theatre director and director of the TNC, about her body of work.
On 20 April, at various venues around the city, a series of conversations between writers will also begin around such issues as power, family, sex, literature and art, as well as an emerging writers round table. Taking part will be Teju Cole, Enrique Vila-Matas, Petros Màrkaris, Francesc Serés, Lionel Shriver, Empar Moliner, Siri Hustvedt, Gabriela Wiener, Sara Mesa, Max Besora and Carlos Zanón.
The night before Sant Jordi, Saturday 22 at 9 pm, The Night of the Dragon will be held. Evening of Tributes. In front of the Born, Plaça Comercial will host the first edition of this special evening that will commemorate the anniversaries of the great names in Catalan literature every year. This year will be the turn of Josep Palau i Fabre, Joan Fuster, Prudenci Bertrana and his daughter, Aurora Bertrana, Màrius Torres, Carles Soldevila and J. V. Foix. Under the guidance of theatre director Joan Ollé, artists and figures from the world of the arts will pay tribute to writers. This first edition will include the participation of Pere Arquillué, Paula Blanco, Hermann Bonnín, Montserrat Carulla, Javier Cercas, Carles Dénia, Els Nens Eutròfics, Joan Garriga, Meritxell Gené, Glòria Granell, Gemma Humet, Txema Martínez-Izquierdo, Joan Francesc Mira, Rafael Nadal, Josep Pedrals, Cristina Plazas, Tortell Poltrona, Marc Serrats, Jaume Sisa and Toti Soler.
Running parallel, from 20 to 22 April, the Palau de la Virreina will be hosting the annual meeting of the Cities of Literature, where Barcelona will be taking over from Dublin, the city where it was celebrated in 2016.
For more information and details of the activities to Sant Jordi, you can consult this link.