Plaça de Catalunya will miss out on Barcelona’s Christmas lighting this year because an encampment demanding housing has occupied the square since late September. The city says there is no time to install the planned display, even if the encampment ends this month.
Municipal sources also said the proposal by Artec Light Studio would not be moved elsewhere. It was designed specifically for the square. The rest of the city’s programme will go ahead.
The main switch-on ceremony is scheduled for 18:00 on 26 November on the upper stretch of Passeig de Gràcia, between Rosselló and Diagonal. Lights across the city will stay on until 6 January, Three Kings’ Day. Regular hours will be 17:30 to 01:00 from Sunday to Thursday, extending to 02:00 on the eve of public holidays.
The programme will cover streets in every district, in collaboration with local commercial associations. Each district will also hold its own switch-on event. This is the second year of the city’s author-designed lighting programme, organised through a competition with ADI-FAD (Asociación de Diseño Industrial).
Last year’s designs appeared on Via Laietana, by Ester Pujol and Marta Cerdà, and on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, by APO. Other installations were on Carrer d’Aragó, by SMLXL, and Passeig de Sant Joan, by Brosmind. The Plaça de Catalunya design was by ARTEC Light Studio. SMLXL’s work received the Laus Or 2026 award in the applied graphics category.
This year, the author-designed displays will extend beyond the centre to Rambla Prim, with work by Hey Studio, and Passeig de Maragall, designed by Jordi Canudes and Ingrid Picanyol. Organisers of another Spanish event have also announced a change to their 2026 plans: Festivern’s cancellation.
