The Spanish Carnival season is celebrated all over Spain, in every region Carnival has its own unique character and traditions.
Barcelona has always had its own flavour of festivities, and this year, 2012, Barcelona City Council is launching a new carnival model that seeks to recover the distinctive historical character of its celebration in the city. So instead of a central procession there will be several smaller processions around the city, and ancient traditions such as the carnival dance, the arrival of the king, and the burial of the sardine are making a comeback.
These customs originate in the carnival traditions of the 15th and 16th century and have been revived with the collaboration of the historians.
As well as the revival of long lost traditions, Carnival this year will be about greater public participation, following dialogue with the organisations and societies that take part in Carnival, it has been decided to involve the residents, associations, schools and markets of Barcelona’s districts.
The Carnival schedule is still being finalised, but to date events confirmed include:
– Dijous Gras, or Fat Thursday, on the 16th of February. Celebration will centre around the Santa Caterina Market, with the collaboration of other markets across Barcelona and will include the presentation of the carnival’s seven ambassadors.
– The Carnival King (Carnestoltes) will take place on Passeig del Born, where he will parade with his retinue, preceded by his ambassadors, this will be followed by a masked ball (16th of February, 5.30-9.00pm.).
– Carnival parades (18 February) – to be held in the different neighbourhoods and organised by each neighbourhood’s carnival association.
– The main carnival event will take place in the Born neighbourhood (19th of February) and includes two masked balls, the “Batalla” (battle) and the “Gran Sarau” (big dance), and will be divided into three parts: at 5 pm the kids’ “sarau”, at 6 pm the carnival parade and battle or “taronjada” (orange fight), and, finally, at 6.30 pm, the typical carnival dances and masked balls will take place in the patio of the Convent de Sant Agustí, on the Passeig del Born, and in the train station concourse.
– The burial of the sardine (22nd February) will take place in Parc de la Ciutadella and will be accompanied by a series of activities for children.
If you are in Barcelona in February, make sure you join in the carnival fun! See our Barcelona apartments if you need to reserve accommodation.
Teyona from Real Estate Park City UT
Wow! Lots of things to do and witness during Carnival Barcelona 2012. What a great,great mardi gras to celebrate. Good luck!
Charlotte from Phentermine
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Rosie from st regis bal harbour
How I wish I was in Barcelona right now to experience this wonderful event.
Tiffany from Richardsons Boating Holidays
I could already imagine a fun event in vibrant colors! I hope you can share some photos of the carnival. 🙂
Edu from Continuum South Beach
Even though the carnival has already ended, it is still great to visit Barcelona and check out the old cities and cathedrals.
Villa from W South Beach
Barcelona is on my list to visit this year. I will visit this site to get more information about Barcelona. See you there guys 🙂
birthday party melbourne
I live 1 hours drive north of Barcelona and our local carnival is on Feb 15. Theirs should be the same but I suggest you Google the tourist office Barcelona and check with them.Hope this helps.
Lina from Acqualina Miami
You are right Villa this site is very useful for all those traveler’s who want to go to Barcelona, like me 🙂
Mimi from Miami Luxury Homes
I love carnival and I love Barcelona. A perfect place for a perfect vacation.
Edward from Miami Homes
There’s really a great events and wonderful places you shouldn’t miss when you travel Barcelona.
Homer from Coral Gables
I’ve never been to Barcelona but it’s always on my list for my vacation plans. I’ll be bookmarking this great site for future references.
mutuelles from mutuelles
Barcelone is the most beautiful town I visited.
I’d like to go to the carnival
Jem from My Outdoor Calendar
Bringing the history back is just exciting! Hope that this kind of celebration will continue in the next upcoming years!I would really love to witness it. 🙂
Fred from onlinegamesfree
Ola! Josep Ferrer,
This might be off topic, however, Okay so at the end of summer for this year I would like to go on Carnival Magic leaving from Barcelona, Spain August 26th. I am 14(and will be then) and I personally love cruises. My dad (the only person I will be going with) does seem to have fun on them. This would be our fourth cruise. Our third cruise by ourselves. We went on one back in 2004, 2010, and one this past February. I would really like to go on this cruise because this cruise goes to Italy and other places in Europe.
The only problem is my dad doesn’t seem that excited to go on one. He said that it would be too many in one year. But that would be half a year later than our February cruise. My birthday is in October so maybe this could be an early birthday present considering I would rather get this than a material item.
If you have any ideas on how to convince my dad to go on this cruise please don’t hesitate to respond. 🙂
Please and Thank You
And the sooner the better for the more savings with the early saver rate.
Catch you again soon!
jazz from buy kayaks online
Barcelona beach is a wonderful place for any outdoor activity. I am waiting for the carnival 2012 of Barcelona. Barcelona has various flavors and just because of it this is a perfect tourism spot. I love to enjoy activities like fishing, kayaking, swimming and camping here.
Adam from wedding rentals
I’ve been there in 2010 and 2011 and it was great. If you get the chance to go…don’t hesitate..it’s a very nice experience.