Have you been well behaved? Have you already written your letter to the Magic Kings? Now you just need to be a bit patient and come to receive Their Majesties the Kings of Orient when they arrive in the city on the 5th of January and their entourage Parade around the city.

You may have already met some of their servants and might have given them your letter. There are Royal Mailboxes all over the city, although some of the most popular ones are in Oasi de Nou Barris, where a Royal Camp has been set up where, from the 2nd to the 4th of January, you will see the Christmas star, will meet the astrologers and the sleepy fairies will delight you. You will, you will be delighted with the fairy tales, you will see some toy makers, candy producers and charcoal workers. … and, especially, you will want to see the royal mailman that will collect your letter.

You may already have a ticket to see inside the Fabra i Coats Toy Factory, if you couldn’t get a ticket, don’t worry,  you’ll have many more opportunities to meet the Kings of Orient. As always, they arrive on board of Pailebot Santa Eulàlia but, this year, a very special activity has been prepared to greet them from the beach: Two hundred royal servants  will meet the children on the 5th at 12 noon at the Barceloneta and Somorrostro beach to collect letters and, as the boat of Their Majesties passes by, together with their royal host of boats, they will be the first ones greeting them. Right after, there will be a fireworks display at Espigó del Gas.

Their Majesties will disembark later, at 4.30 p.m., at the Portal de la Pau. They will be welcomed by you, boys and girls, but also by the Mayor, Jaume Collboni, who will give them bread and salt, a symbol of hospitality, and a key with which Their Majesties will open the doors of the homes of all Barcelona citizens.

From here and from 18h onwards, the Kings Parade will go through the streets of the city centre: Avinguda Marquès de l’Argentera, Passeig de Colom, Avinguda del Paral-lel, Ronda de Sant Pau, Sant Antoni Market, Carrer de Sepúlveda, Plaça d’Espanya and, finally, Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina. You should start practicing the Cançó de l’estel, the Cançó dels carters and the Cançó del carbó, which you will need. And don’t forget to say hello to Gregori, a kind and resolute servant who makes sure that everything runs smoothly on the day of the Parade; Estel, in charge of making sure that the children don’t demand violent or sexist games, and Omar, responsible for making sure that presents get to their destination correctly.

This year, kings Gaspar and Balthazar will be using new carriages for the first time, created by Marc Salicrú and José Menchero, in collaboration with the Senegalese artist Michel Doudou. In addition to the songs we have already mentioned, musical compositions by the composers Alejandro Vivero and Esteban Tamashiro, in collaboration with the Conservatori del Liceu, will be performed for the first time ever.

Marta Almirall and Barbarana Pons are the artistic directors of a show divided into ten large blocks, which mobilises more than 1,100 assistants from His Majesties, including dancers, actors and volunteers. More than twenty entities and schools in the city participate in the creation of the parade, including twelve professional companies.

This year, associations of people with functional diversity take part in the festival and sign language is introduced in the choreography of the show.

Yes, the Parade is a magical moment in the children’s calendar, almost like… a trip to the Tibidabo Amusement Park, which this year is sponsoring a carriage from which they will throw… four tons of sweets! As you will see, inside the carriage there are the four mascots of the park: Ti, Bi, Da and Bo. Come and say hello to them!

Everyone can come to the parade, including citizens with disabilities or functional diversity. Don’t forget that there are conditioned spaces for these people, but if you use them, remember to always carry your accreditation card with you. People with wheelchairs may be accompanied by a maximum  two people. The spaces reserved for these citizens are at the Portal de la Pau itself, where the Kings arrive, at the Plaça d’Antonio López (seafront) and at the Plaça d’Espanya (on the Paral-lel side). 

Remember that the Kings of Orient are magical and therefore have the capacity to be present at both the main Parade in Barcelona and the many others that take place in the city’s neighbourhoods and districts. In this way, they reach children who may not be able to go down to the city centre, but who, in Sant Andreu and La Sagrera, the Congrés-Indians, Horta-Guinardó, Trinitat Vella and many other parts of the city, are also celebrating the 5th of January. If you do not want to leave the house, do not worry, 3 channels will be having specials on the parade: TVE, TV3 & Betebé.

In order for Their Majesties to solve emergencies, if they have any,  Fira de Reis has been set up on Gran Via de Barcelona, between Muntaner and Rocafort, with stops open until the 6th of January. Take a look at the programme of the districts (for example, Les Corts) and you will find other Fira de Reis that are spread around the city these days.

If you want to receive the Three Kings properly, come to Port Well, but first check the information about the celebrations in this link.