Up to twenty-five different shows, some of which are being performed for the first time for the occasion, form part of the Christmas Festival which, this year 2024, once again fills Plaça de Catalunya with life and the magic of the festive season, where there will be morning activities for all audiences, circus and dance evenings, early evening concerts and a great circus show to be seen every night. All this will take place between the 20th and 30th of December.

Between morning, afternoon and evening, 334 performances of different disciplines will be offered. Do you want a name? Well, in the square you’ll find everything from Escarlata Circus and Xavier Bobés to Elelei, Big Bouncers and Circ Pistolet, as well as musicians such as Alba Careta and Carles Sarduy, among others, and a show by one of the most innovative companies in circus today: Animal Religion.

It all starts in the mornings, when you can enjoy the family show Estacions de Nadal. Is it one show or four? Depending on how you look at it, as each piece is independent, but they all evoke different visions of the Christmas celebrations. You can see it between 11 am and 1 pm every day. Among the companies and artists that you’ll find in the mornings in Plaça de Catalunya, there is from the hilarious Escarlata Circus to Companyia Ortiga, Xavier Bobés or Les Pinyes. Some of them are experts in making you laugh and the others (like Bobés) are specialists in turning humble objects into anything you can imagine or almost imagine. Don’t leave the square without having spent a long time dancing to the music of Ambauka.

Circus and dance, however, will be the main protagonists of the afternoon in Plaça de Catalunya from 5 pm onwards. There you will see international artists such as Luuk Branjes, a Dutchman who will leave you speechless with his Korean balancing board, as well as the companies Adhoc and La Migration, making their debut in the city. Do you want local talent? Then the artists from Bucráa Circus and Circ Pistolet are waiting for you. Also one of the artists of the movement that has emerged recently with more force, Elelei, who together with the Big Bouncers collective is preparing participatory activities. Don’t miss Los perros, a dance piece by Led Silhouette and one of the greats of contemporary dance, Marcos Morau, and the Dutch circus and dance company Panama Pictures. As masters of the square’s ceremonies, the Ual-la, who will perform scenes from the show PLAY!

Music will be the queen of the square from 7 p.m. onwards, when you can find on stage a whole host of musicians from the Barcelona scene such as Alidé Sans, Udon (Alba Careta and Henrio), Sergi Carbonell, Carlos Sarduy & The Groove Messengers and, once again, Ual-la.

The last event of the day of the Christmas shows starts at 7.45 p.m., when Juan Carlos Panduro presents El patio – Versión EXIT, a vertical and acrobatic dance show. Afterwards, the company Animal Religion brings to the stage the contemporary circus show Natal, a production of the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona directed by Quim Giró, with a stage design by Laura Clos (‘Closca’) and, as the main protagonists, circus artists Berta Contijoch, Teo Martín, Pablo Molina, Ivan Morales Ruiz, Luna Papia, Luis M. Roldán Santiago and a lyrical singer, Núria Dardinyà. Here you will listen to music and see acrobatics, contortionism, capillary suspension and acrobatic dance, among other disciplines.

Surely you will find a moment or two to go to the city centre to enjoy the Christmas Festival this year, but if you find it difficult to leave the neighbourhood and live in Nou Barris, Sant Andreu or Sants-Montjuïc, remember that, on 14 and 21 December the Festival de Nadal offers special performances in these districts by the percussion group Sound de Secà, who come from La Segarra and who also perform dance, theatre and music.

If you want to know the full programme of the Festival de Nadal 2024, come to Plaça de Catalunya, but before that, check the website for all the information..